


Life Among the Dead

by authoressjean



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF!Dean Winchester, BAMF!Jessica Moore, BAMF!Ruby, BAMF!Sam Winchester, F/F, F/M, Gen, Good Person Ruby (Supernatural), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, Protective Dean Winchester, Protective Sam Winchester, Season/Series 08, Slow Build Castiel/Dean Winchester, They're all badasses okay, Zombies, brothers finding each other again, no explicit relationships - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:15:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 37,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21600811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/authoressjean/pseuds/authoressjean
Summary: AU mid-season 8. A spell gone wrong sends Dean and Sam to an alternate universe where a virus has ravaged the world and left zombies in its wake. Yet in the hellscape they find an unexpected gift of loved ones still alive and fighting against the swarms of undead. As they try to find their way back to their own world and survive day to day, they realize what the spell was really for: to try and save the lives of this other world's Dean and Sam. The Dean and Sam who are now missing and had been bit.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Jessica Moore/Sam Winchester, Jo Harvelle/Ruby, hinted relationships of Destiel and Jo/Ruby at least
Comments: 34
Kudos: 82





	1. The Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Boy howdy has this fic been a while in coming. It started years ago in a drafted email and this year's NaNoWriMo yielded a lot of fic, including parts of the "Not Torn Asunder" sequel and another much shorter fic that I'll post in a bit. But mostly it was to finish this which thankfully didn't get too beastly. 
> 
> For those wondering about the relationships: this entire fic is still geared towards Dean and Sam getting back to each other and becoming the brothers they deserve to be. I've never really done relationship fics in Supernatural so this is sorta new for me. I've certainly done relationship fics (see my huge 'verse of Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield "the changed future" for proof of that) but never in Supernatural. So. Hang with me. I left the relationship tags in but in all honesty, except for the Sam and Jess, they're all very much hinted at or at a super beginning stage. Nothing explicit.
> 
> This story is complete and will be published as my schedule allows.

The candle was nearly down to the base, the light flickering and almost non-existent. It was still bright enough to be seen, outside of the building, which meant that sought after light, that separation from the darkness, was their worst enemy.  
Well. Not their worst. No, their worst was still out there, moaning, shuffling, and hungry. Always hungry, never full.

She pushed her blonde hair out of her face, spreading the sweat more than taking it away. She could feel it curling against the nape of her neck, sticking and reminding her of the incredible heat. Hell hadn't even been this hot. And she'd know better than anyone else. Without power, there was no A/C, there was nothing except for the oppressive heat, the silence that wasn't ever really silent, and then, the darkness.

Yet they still didn't move.

Soft footsteps told her it was human before her senses did. She mentally cursed herself and wiped at her forehead again. Her negligence would cost her or someone else. If she wasn't paying attention, if she wasn't using her abilities to the max, they were all going to die.

Silence followed, only broken by a single breath. Then: "Is it working?"

She cast her gaze out over the two prone forms. Unconscious since they'd fallen, the chills hitting later than they'd expected, they would have looked asleep if it wasn't for the blood they couldn't quite wipe clean. It always came welling back to the surface.

"I don't know," she finally said. "It might be. I won't know until..." Until they woke up. Until they died. Until they turned.

Another long silence followed her unwelcome statement. "It has to," came the response at long last. "It has to. We need them. They're our only hope, y'know?"

With a sigh Ruby pulled her hair off her neck. The sudden cool feeling faded quickly, but the moment had been enjoyed while it lasted. "I know, Jo," she said. "I know."

Ahead of them, Dean and Sam slept on, silent, still. Ruby shut her eyes and pleaded to a god that would never listen to the likes of her. _Please, please let them wake up._

_Please let them come back._  
  



	2. The Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the wake of another awkward and stilted conversation, Dean and Sam suddenly find themselves elsewhere, with faces they never expected to see again.

If he counted, he'd lose his mind.

That was the thought Sam had most days. Counting lives lost, tallying them by numbers rather than names. If he used names, he would really lose it and do something stupid.

Somehow, he still had Dean, though most days it didn't even feel like that. They'd lost something after he'd come back without a soul. Hell, they'd lost something when Bobby had died, and didn't that still kill him. Then there'd been Benny after Purgatory and Castiel still in Purgatory, and there was no one left, now. He had no fight left. He was done.

He probably would've felt differently had he not been staring down at the old photo in his hands. He'd meant to clean out his wallet and that was it, but then his fingers had plucked the old photo out from the back, and the other two had tumbled out with it.

The first photo was clearly the oldest. His dad, Dean, Mom, and Sam as an infant. They were all smiling, even himself as a tiny baby. It was hard to remember the last time he or Dean had smiled freely. There was no one left to smile for.

The second photo was Bobby giving the person with the camera a filthy look. His eyes twinkled, though, and his lips were fighting the urge to turn up. Sam didn't even remember what the moment had been, but he remembered Dean all but dancing and insisting he capture Bobby's ire.

Another person lost. Sam swallowed hard and felt his eyes burn. Had it really been almost a year since they'd been in the hospital and Bobby had let go? It still felt like yesterday. God but he was gone and there was nothing they could do, no one who could change that. He'd left and now it was Dean and Sam and god knew where Castiel was these days.

The third photo he hated looking at, but he refused to let it go. If he did, he'd forget what she even looked like. The way her nose had turned up, just a little, the pale freckles that crossed her nose in the summer, her hair that she'd lamented was a nest after swimming. She was smiling brightly in the photo, and Sam traced Jess's face with his finger.

All of them were gone now. Just him and Dean, and it didn't even feel like it anymore. There were days when he remembered what it felt like to be Dean and Sam, but these days they were nowhere close.

The door to their motel room opened and shut, and Sam put his photos away. "Got lunch," Dean said unnecessarily. Anything to fill the space, Sam figured.

He slid his wallet back into his pocket. "Greek?" he offered.

"Yeah, the place we saw when we came in. Why a small town in the middle of nowhere has a Greek restaurant, I don't know."

"We're two hours from Raleigh, Dean. Not that big of a stretch. People commute from this distance into the city."

"And why they'd want to do that, I have no idea. It's beyond me." Dean had everything out of the bag at that point, then stopped, setting Sam's food down carefully. "Uh, you still take the lamb gyro, right?"

There was a pang at the fact that neither of them could remember the simplest of things anymore. Sam had screwed up Dean's coffee the other morning, and now Dean had forgotten a simple staple. Sam swallowed. "Uh, yeah, lamb's fine. Thanks."

Dean said nothing but gave a quick nod. Sam could feel that something needed to be said before the silence came back, but he couldn't figure out what else he could say. He moved to the table to eat instead, and they filled the silence with their lunch.

"Thinking of Denver," Dean said after they'd eaten. "There's a case out there, looks our speed." And nowhere near Texas and Amelia but Sam wasn’t going to point it out.

"That's a long way out," Sam said. It would take days, and there were thousands of cities and towns in between that they could stop in. Maybe other cases they could take.

Dean shrugged. "Sooner the better, I figure. Unless you find something in between." He glanced up and began to speak, then frowned and said nothing. Sam's stomach twisted at the silence that again filled the space between them.

It was enough. He'd had enough. "You know, we can actually say things-"

"No, it's not that, it's...did your gyro taste off to you?" Dean asked. He frowned again and winced, clutching his stomach. "I just don't feel so hot all of a sudden."

Now that he mentioned it, the twisting in Sam's gut hadn't given in. If anything, it was getting worse, like something was gnawing away inside of him. He reached towards his stomach and startled when his skin felt hot. "What the-?"

"Sam," Dean said, sounding concerned, but by the time Sam looked up at him, the room was already spinning, and there was a muffled sound in the distance. His ears felt as if they'd been stuffed with cotton, and it was disturbing his equilibrium. He tried to stand but his legs refused to work, and his lack of balance had him tumbling to the floor. When he found Dean through blurring vision, his brother was reaching for him, already on the floor himself, trying to get to Sam. Sam reached out with a weakening arm, fumbling to find his brother. Something, anything, just a finger-

His hand caught hold of Dean's, and the world cleared around them. His ears were open and the sudden burst of screams and shouts made him jump, and the world was too bright, too hot. He glanced over at Dean, surprised, only to see his confusion mirrored on his brother's face.

Then he turned and his eyes met a face he thought he'd never see again, framed by long, blonde hair, just like it had been the first time they’d met her. "Hi," Ruby said. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then Dean lunged, and Sam was right behind him. His limbs betrayed him, and even his anger and shock wasn't enough to propel him forward.

"Woah, woah, easy," Ruby said, though it sounded as if she were trying to be _gentle_. "Neither of you should be moving right now. You'll be all right.” She gave a startled laugh, and her face was full of joy. “Jesus, it actually _worked_."

"Ruby! Ruby, we have to _go_! We have to-"

Sam managed to lift his head at the painfully familiar voice, unable to actually register who it was. Then her blonde head peeked in, and Sam could only stare. "Holy shit," Dean croaked.

Jo's eyes widened. "Oh my god. It worked. It _worked_! Ruby, you're a genius!"

"I try," she said. "What do you mean, go?"

The light in Jo's eyes faded. "The gate broke. We have to go."

Ruby cursed a blue streak and rose from her spot on the dusty floor. Now that Sam could see beyond the women - Jo was _alive_ , never mind Ruby, it was _Jo_ who was breathing and moving despite being bruised and dirty - the entire room was empty and like a war zone. The glass windows were broken, and Sam could see a hazy sky outside. There was no furniture save for a decrepit sofa, and the room was covered in leaves and dirt that had probably blown in through the windows. A small candle was on the floor, and a bowl of herbs beside it.

The screams continued, as did an odd murmur. Like a groaning that wouldn't stop, guttural and horrible.

"Guys we have to g-holy fuck," said another voice, male this time. Sam shook his head to clear it, but no, there was Andy, right in front of him. The younger man looked disheveled and nine types of bloody, but he was there, alive, and currently being pushed and pulled at by Jo.

"Ow, stop, I'm fine," Andy insisted. "Really, Jo. I'm all right. It's not mine."

Jo froze. "Ryan's?" she asked hesitantly.

Andy grimaced. "And Herb's. That was the screaming you probably heard."

"Oh god," she breathed. Her eyes filled with tears which she immediately dashed away with the back of her hand. "No, I'm not doing this now, I'm not, I'm _not_." She took a breath, then another. "Okay. Okay. We have to go."

"Past time to leave," Ruby agreed. She moved back to Dean and Sam and knelt down. Her worry was clear to see, and not a hint of guile was in her eyes. "Can you both stand? I'm sorry, I wanted to give you more time to readjust, but we can't. I'll help as best as I can, but we've gotta get out of here. The fact that we've been untouched for two days has been a miracle."

"Yeah, one that cost us," Andy said, before quickly adding, "No offense," and aiming it at Dean and Sam.

Ruby glared at him. "This isn't their fault, so knock it off, Mouth."

"Okay, enough," Jo said, stepping between them. Sam finally noticed the big black rifle she had strapped to her back, and the two pistols holstered on her sides. "That's enough from the both of you. We've gotta get out of here-"

"Now would be good!" came a shout, and in flew a kid no more than fifteen years old. "Now would be really good!"

"Oscar, where is-"

"Right behind me, they're all right behind me, why aren't you people leaving?" Then he paused and glanced at Dean and Sam. His shoulders dropped in evident relief. "Oh my god it worked. You're alive. Thank god. Jesus. Okay, _now_ we have to go."

"Come on, Shortbus," Ruby said, and made the mistake of reaching for Dean's arm. Dean shoved her off, murder in his eyes. Ruby stared, completely baffled from the look of it. "What's the matter with you?"

"They just woke up, give them a break," Jo said. She reached over and helped Sam to his feet, and the only thing he could do was stare at her. She looked haggard and in desperate need of a shower, but god if she wasn't the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. She was alive and full of blood, and she wasn't dead.

Ruby was there, too, and Sam wasn't even certain how that was possible. But Dean was seeing it too, from his reactions, and that meant Sam wasn't dreaming all of this up. At least, not on his own.

"Let's go," Jo said once they were standing, but Oscar blocked her from the front door.

"Can't go out that way."

"Why not?"

"Because they have the stairs," he said, and Jo went pale. Ruby swallowed hard and shook her head, then began looking around.

Andy moved to the broken window and glanced out, and he gingerly stepped away. "Yeah, so, they're inside," he said casually.

"Is the fire escape on our side of the building?" Ruby demanded. "Andy, is it on our side?"

"Better hope it is," Andy said, and Ruby took off running. Andy followed, and Oscar only went after Jo shoved him away.

Dean glanced at Sam with a wide-eyed look. _What the hell?_ he said clearly, and Sam shrugged helplessly. He didn't have the foggiest clue except for the fact that somewhere, somehow, they'd fallen down a rabbit hole and wound up seeing familiar and dead faces that weren't dead anymore.

"What are you doing?" Jo hissed. "Go! Follow Ruby and get up to the roof! I'll cover you!"

The open door out of the apartment - what Sam assumed was an apartment, at any rate - was dark and no longer inviting as an exit. The groaning from before was outside the door now, and with it the constant barrage of gunfire. The feeling of unease was creeping over Sam's insides, and he carefully backed away from it. His legs were gaining strength with each step, no longer feeling like the jello they had been. If he had to run, it would feel like running through mud, but he could do it.

"Go go go!" came the shout from the outside of the apartment. Jo raised her rifle and put her steady hand on the trigger. Sam stumbled on his coltish legs, and suddenly Dean was right in front of him, backing away but keeping himself between Sam and the unknown threat.

Then two people ran into the room and shut the door. One was a bald man who teased at Sam's memory, pressing himself against the door to keep it locked, and the other-

Her blonde hair was pulled back into a tight and messy ponytail, freeing her face and revealing dirt, grime, and splotches of blood. Her hands were holding a shotgun, and her button up shirt would have been blue if it hadn't been filthy. Her boots were solid as she stood her ground, barrels aimed at the door.

Sam stared. "Jo, get out of here," she ordered, and the sound of her voice after all these years left his eyes burning. Alive.

Jess was _alive_.

"...Jess?" he gasped out. She glanced back at him for a quick moment, then turned back to the door.

"It worked?" she called behind her.

"Far as we can tell," Jo said. "Not a scratch on either of them."

"Remind me to kiss Ruby later," Jess said. "Now get them the fuck out of here. Gate's down. Caleb, come on, you can't hold it!"

Caleb. Dad's friend, one of Dean's more positive mentors growing up. "Caleb," Dean breathed, and Sam slowly shook his head to try and clear it, to wake up, because this couldn't be real. This couldn't be _real_.

But there was Jo, and Caleb, and _Jess_ , and all of them were real. The room around them felt real, and the musty air felt like it was clogging in his throat.

Then the door pressed in, like something heavy was banging on it, and then he registered the growling and the groaning.

"Jo, _go_ ," Jess ordered, and Jo turned tail and ran, nearly running straight into Sam and Dean. She grabbed them both and pushed, and they had no choice but to race after her through the abandoned room. They followed her to what had probably been a bedroom once, a caved-in mattress the only remnants in the room. That, and the large blood stain on the wall that trailed down to a larger stain on the ground. Sam stared.

"Caleb, go!" he heard Jess shout, and then the door gave. The groans were loud, and the raspy, guttural sounds sent Sam's heart racing. The shotgun went off once, twice.

"Through the window," Jo gasped, and she was already through. Dean followed after her out onto the fire escape, legs looking like they were almost working properly. Sam turned, unwilling to leave her, not when he'd found her, not when that horrible groaning sounded like death itself.

But Caleb came racing into the room and shoved him through the window. "Come on, kid, time to go," he said. Sam managed to haul his way up the fire escape, his eyes continuously turning back to the open window.

Jess didn't appear.

"We have to go back-" he began, but Caleb shook his head.

"She'll get out. She's not been trapped yet. And if she leaves now, _none_ of us will get out."

"Sammy, c'mon," Dean called, and that was enough to get Sam moving again. His heart was pounding against his ribs now as he raced to the roof of the building. He wished it was exertion, but all of it was in fear of the unknown danger that Jess was facing, Jess, his sweet Jess who hadn't been able to lay down mouse traps-

And who was coming through the window and racing up the fire escape. Sam let out a sigh of relief and allowed himself to be hauled onto the roof. "Get over here!" Ruby shouted from the other side of the roof, and they took off running to meet her.

"The ladder, get over the ladder," she said, and Sam began to step out onto a long ladder stretching between two buildings without thinking. Then he looked down, and he wished he hadn't.

It looked like a filthy flood of water oozing through the streets, filled with blood and reeking of death. Then his vision cleared and he could see the hair, the bones, the torn clothes that revealed the ripped muscles and flesh. All of them filing into the building, all of them groaning and hissing and growling, arms outstretched to grab.

"You've got to be kidding me," Dean breathed. "Zombies?"

Jo gave him an odd look. "Just, go," she finally said. "And hurry."

Sam slowly began to climb across the ladder. The metal shifted against the rooftops, causing him to freeze. Below, a few of the zombies had caught sight of him and were reaching up as if they could grab him five stories above the ground. He swallowed and kept going.

Andy caught his arm as soon as he'd crossed and pulled him over. "This building isn't really secure either," he said. "We need to keep moving. Are your hands okay to take this? I'm not as good a shot as you are." He held up a small gun and a new magazine.

Sam wiped his hands on his pants to try and steady them. Hunter mode, he needed to be in hunter mode. But his emotions were all over the place, and when he turned, Jess was there on the other roof, shotgun at the ready.

He let the hunter take over. The clip slid in and he threw off the safety. His hands steadied, and if he could just pretend she was someone else, someone he didn't know, another victim to save, he'd be fine. He'd be fine.

He turned his back on her and leveled his gun down at the single door that led to the roof on their building. He couldn't hear anything over the sounds in the street, but he'd seen them clambering into this building too. They were there, winding their way slowly up to the top. They'd reach the closed door eventually.

_Zombies_. The hell had they gotten themselves into? Where were they?

The shotgun from Jess went off once, and he heard her pump it. "Get ready," she warned. "The stragglers are always followed by the real thing."

"I'm over," Jo called. "Dean, hurry it up!"

"I'm not going over before you do," Ruby said. "So move it Shortbus."

"Like I want you bringing up my rear," Dean said angrily, and then let out a surprised gust of air as Ruby, presumably, pushed him.

"Go! C'mon!" Andy shouted, and then Sam didn't care because the banging on the door started. He slowly crept closer, aware of Jo on his left, backing him up from the edge of the roof. Clanging resounded ahead of him and behind, and then Dean finally stepped down and onto the roof if his complaining was any indication, and the clanging started again.

"Ruby, come on, hurry!" Jo called. Sam dared to glance over his shoulder and saw the demon carefully making her way across. She finally leapt onto the roof and raced past them to the other side, peering over the edge. It wasn't a happy face she turned back with.

Andy swallowed hard. "We're surrounded, aren't we?"

"It's not good," she agreed. "I can probably jump it, and we can haul the ladder over like we did before. The street out of town's on the other side of the other building."

"Can you make the jump?" Jo asked. Ruby began to respond, and then the door banged violently, making her reach for the gun that sat on her hip. Sam tensed, finger on the trigger.  
The door didn't give.

"They'll break it down," Jo said quietly. "It'll give. Nothing stands against a swarm."

"I'm not leaving you!" Jess shouted suddenly, and Sam turned, completely forgetting about his personal promise to not look at her.

Caleb stood by the door fire escape, shaking his head. "Get going - they need you! I'll follow across, I swear."

"Jess come on!" Jo shouted, and that was enough to decide her. She slid her shotgun over her shoulder to free her hands and began to half climb, half walk across. Sam took a step towards her without realizing it, and only hauled himself back when Dean caught him by the arm. Didn't he understand she was walking over zombies, zombies who were going to eat them, zombies who could kill her and-

The ladder made an ominous sound, and Jess froze for half a second, long enough for Sam's heart to trip a beat. Then she pushed herself to standing, took two long strides across the rungs, and threw herself over onto the roof. Sam caught her before she could fall, and she gave him a puzzled look, one he couldn't understand, before righting herself. "Thanks," she said, as if it were an afterthought. He only nodded.

Then she turned back across the rooftops and called, "You promised, Caleb! Now move it!"

"Yeah, c'mon," Oscar said, suddenly beside Sam on the right. He startled, not having heard or even seen the young man come across, but the kid was right beside him all the same. "Before the door over here gives."

"Could be any minute," Jo said, her gun already aimed on the door again. Sam brought his back up to join her. The door was shifting steadily, giving more and more, and the hinges weren't going to take too much more.

"Time to go, Caleb," Dean said, and Caleb finally moved away from the edge towards the ladder. He took it a step at a time on the rungs like Jess had done, doing his best to not look down. Dean moved to the edge to take his hand and help him over.

It happened in an instant. Caleb glanced back at the fire escape and paused too long on the rung. The ladder cracked like a gunshot, and the middle gave. Caleb tried to lunge for the edge, but he was too far out, and he tumbled with the ladder. "NO!" Dean shouted, reaching fruitlessly, and if Ruby hadn't caught him, he would've gone over the edge of the roof.

The worst part was that Caleb didn't scream until he hit the mass below him, which quickly began pulling at anything they could of him. "No, no, _no_!" he screamed, and then it was just screaming as they ripped past his clothes and into his skin. Blood went everywhere, and he wouldn't stop screaming. Jess turned away, tears in her eyes, but all Sam could do was watch in horror as Caleb began to disappear beneath their bony fingers. It was almost a mercy when they brought him to the ground, and the multitude of zombies covered him.

It didn't stop his screaming, though. "Hey, come on," Ruby said. Even she deliberately didn't look down. "Come on, we've got to go."

Dean just stared at the remnants of where Caleb had been, cringing at every choked scream. Ruby carefully reached out and tugged on his arm, slowly bringing his attention away from the roof's edge. "Hey, Shortbus, c'mon. We have to keep moving."

Slowly Dean nodded, and Ruby led the group to the other side. There were more than a few zombies below between their building and the next, but not as many as the other street, and they were slowly making their way over to where Caleb was. There was no way across, however, and no fire escape down.

"We're screwed," Andy said quietly. "As soon as they get through the door-"

"Not happening," Ruby said through gritted teeth, and suddenly she was flying over the roof's edge and landing against the brick wall. Her hand caught the top of the roof's edge and held, and Sam released the breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"Are you insane?" Oscar hissed. "Ruby you could've _died_!"

Ruby summarily ignored him and began racing around the roof top, eyes searching everywhere. Sam began searching the roof they were on, but besides pipes and old heaters no longer functioning, there was nothing. Nothing but the door that was starting to bend near the edges.

"Ruby!" Jo called as softly as she could. None of the zombies looked up, so she called again. "Ruby!"

Ruby finally came back, and she didn't look happy. "There's nothing," she said. "Nothing at all. You're going to have to jump it."

"You barely made it and you have demonic strength and speed!" Jess said with wide eyes. "Are you _insane_?"

"There's nothing!" Ruby insisted. "I'm sorry but there's not! No ladders, nothing to stretch across!"

"What about that?" Dean said. Sam followed his brother's pointing finger to the cable wire strung across the buildings on the far side, only held up by two metal poles. Sam made a face, but it was the best they'd have.

Ruby was already shaking her head. "Those poles will give. They won't hold long term."

"Someone on this end can hold them, and then you can hold the other end. It's all we've got."

Jess bit her lip at Sam's words but finally gave a short nod, and Ruby flew down to the cables. "Hurry," Jess told them, somehow glancing at Sam but not meeting his eyes. "Caleb's all but stopped screaming, and then they'll turn back for us again."

Sure enough, there were nothing but a few gurgled cries left, and Sam hated that Caleb was still suffering. Not for long, though, and Sam was going to make the best of the man's death. He'd understand - an unwilling sacrifice, but one they ought to make the best of.

"Oscar, you're lightest, you first," Jo said, and just like that, they were moving.

Oscar made it across with Ruby pulling hard on the metal pole on one end, Sam holding tight to the other. Andy proved to be easy, and Jo herself was simple enough. Dean was heavier, and Sam had to strain to keep himself steady, but his brother crossed without issue.

"Go," Jess said, and Sam raised his eyebrows at her.

"Are you crazy? No, go!"

There was a clang, a high-pitched whine, and then a dull thud that echoed through his feet. The door was gone, and he could hear the rasps of the zombies as they poured out onto the roof.

"Go!" Jess said again, but Sam gave her a quick shove, one that made her reach instinctively for the cable to right herself. She glared back at him, but Sam shook his head.

"I mean it, Jess. _Please_ ," he finally begged when she wouldn't move. She gave him that same odd look, that same befuddled look as if she couldn't understand him, and then made her way across. Only when she made it across did Sam pull his gun and turn to the swarm that was beginning to amass on the roof.

"No!" Ruby hissed from the other side. "Don't make any more noise! They haven't all noticed you - grab the cable and go!"

"It won't hold," Sam called back softly. "You know it won't."

"It will on this end," she said, and Sam finally understood what she meant. He swallowed hard and caught the end of the cable and took a good long jump as far out as he could. He made it almost halfway across before the cable gave on the unoccupied side.

"Sam!" Dean gasped as he flew towards the brick building, cable still tight in his hands. He made it to the other side and waited for the fall, but Ruby had the cable tight in her grasp, with Dean beside her. Slowly Sam began to climb the cable, one foot in front of the other on the brick wall.

It was a relief to feel hands pulling at his jacket and hauling him up. Only then did he take deep breaths and try to still his pounding heart. "Holy fuck," he breathed.

"You okay?" Ruby asked him. She reached to put her hand on his shoulder, then stopped, hand hesitantly hovering over him. Sam watched as she moved her hand to her leg to nervously wipe it against her filthy jeans.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "I'm fine."

"Center Street's right here," Andy called from the other side of the roof. "There's a handful, we can get through that but we have to hurry. C'mon."

Dean's hand was a comfort at his elbow. "You hurt?" he asked lowly.

"No, I'm all right. Thanks."

"Sure." He took a breath, then another. "What the ever-loving _fuck_ just happened?"

"I don't know," Sam said softly. "But we'll find out."

"Let's go," Jo said, and they followed after the others. A drainage pipe let them reach the road, and the zombies were too preoccupied with following where the sounds of screams had been to notice their group as they crept away and out of the small town.


	3. Two Worlds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few explanations are given and returned, and it's so much worse than Dean thought it was.

If someone had asked Dean what he'd been planning to do with his day, "Walking for miles to evade zombies with a group of dead people that weren't zombies somehow," would not have been his answer. He'd have said something like, "Work on a case," or, "Pretend Bobby's not dead," or, "Pretend everything was fine with me and my brother," but zombies? Zombies, not so much.

It was...bizarre. And he'd seen shit in his many years as a hunter.

Like Jo. God but he ached looking at her. The sweetheart, the little sister, the person who'd smuggled off with a part of his heart and burned it forever with her. But she was here and dirty and alive. Weary, that was for certain. But alive.

Andy, Andy was hard to look at too. He hadn't seen Andy's death but he'd helped clean up the bodies in the wake of Sam's own death. He'd hoped for better for Andy. The kid had ended his newfound twin's life to keep Sam and Dean alive. He'd chosen Dean's life over his brother's, and that had meant something to him. So he was glad that his brain had conjured up Andy.

Because that was all this had to be. Some food coma of epic proportions.

Ruby he had no fucking clue why she was there. But this was the Ruby she'd been before he'd gone to Hell, the one who'd spoken with him quietly in the dark of night about her own fears, about wanting to help him and Sam. She'd been like that a little after he'd come back, too. Actually, she'd been that way right up until Alistair had gotten a hold of her. He'd never really sat and given it a thought - the world had been ending around them and he'd been losing Sam to an addiction - but she'd been different after that. She hadn't come and spoken to him privately, she'd stopped calling him Shortbus. But here...this was the Ruby who'd almost been a friend.

He didn't know who Oscar was. He didn't really know Jess but he certainly recognized her. And he'd known Caleb.

"There's a building up ahead," Jess said at the front of the group. Her voice was soft, but enough to catch their attention. "We can stay there for the night, provided it's clear. Dean, Ruby, you can scout with me. Jo, Sam, follow up behind."

"Yeah, about that," Ruby said, glancing at Jess. Jess glanced at her, and there was a long pause. Then Ruby turned to Dean. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine as I'll ever be," he said with a frown. "Why?"

"No pain in your wrist?" she asked. "From where I put you back together?"

Dean glanced down at his wrist, but the skin wasn't so much as scarred. Well, except for the small scar he'd gotten when he'd been hunting two years ago. "All clear here," he said.

Ruby was on him in an instant, gun to his face. "Woah, woah!" Andy gasped, and Dean heard the comforting click of Sam's own gun as he leveled it at Ruby. Ruby didn't seem to care, and she reached for Dean's collar before he could stop her.

For a long moment, no one said anything. Ruby seemed to be searching for something on his chest near his neck, and he realized that he'd failed the test. It hadn't been on his wrist, it had been somewhere near his collarbone, if her prodding was any indication. Then Ruby turned to him with anger, and her eyes briefly flashed black. "I don't know what you are, but you end here and now," she hissed. "I'm not carrying demons with me; I'm bad enough, we don't need more."

"I'm not the demon in this group," Dean snapped. "That would be you, you bitch."

"Can we just stop for a minute?" Andy said, his hands held up in an effort to derail them. "Can we please?"

"What's going on?" Jo asked. Her weapon, though not raised, was in her hands.

Jess came over, her gun in hand. Without taking her eyes from Dean she raised it at Sam. "What are you _doing_?" Jo cried.

Oscar tried valiantly to shush them. "Keep your voice down!" he hissed, eyes wide in fear.

"You're not Sam," Jess said, pursing her lips. "And you're not Dean. So why don't you tell me who you are?"

"We're most definitely Sam and Dean," Dean said. Sam was taking shallow breaths, and though Dean trusted him to pull the trigger if he had to, the kid wasn't doing so hot. "You're the ones a little out of place."

"Oh?" Jess asked, eyebrow raised. "And how's that?"

"Because you're dead," Sam said, voice thick with pain. "You're all dead."

Silence fell. Jess's eyes were wide with shock, and Ruby finally took a step back. "Dead?" Andy said, swallowing hard. "Wait, even me?"

"You're all dead," Dean said. "You were killed by another kid with psychic powers. Ruby died by demon blade." Probably better to not say that he'd been the one to do it right now, considering her gun was still aimed at him. "Jo died...by hellhound. And Jess-"

"Jess burned on a ceiling, just like my mom did," Sam whispered. His eyes were locked on her, as if putting her to memory. "And I couldn't stop it."

The wind briefly rustled through the trees, but it was enough to finally motivate the group into moving. "Get to the house," Jess said. "Just...everyone move."

Ruby finally lowered her gun. "C'mon," she said, a little unnecessarily, but Dean figured she was trying to fill the void with something. He didn't blame her.

The house was empty, and by empty he meant completely void of anything. No mice, no insects, no dead people, no glass in the window panes, no doors on the fridge, nothing. The house was empty of everything and anything. He supposed they were lucky the doors on the front and back were still there.

There was still a little touch of light outside, but not too much. Jo swung her backpack off and rummaged around until she found the tall candles she'd been looking for. "Sparsely, and only when it's really dark," she said. "Everyone keep your flashlight handy."

Dean didn't point out that he and Sam only had the clothes on their backs - nearly everyone else was the same, save for the few bags and packs they were carrying. Matches, energy bars, candles, clothes. The types of things you carried when you were trying to survive. He’d done much the same when he’d been in Purgatory, looking for Cas.

His chest tightened at the memory of Cas’s hand in his, right before he’d been pulled away while Dean had been hurtled back to Earth. He’d been so close and then he’d lost him. Forever.

Not thinking about Cas. Not now, not ever again if he could help it. It just…hurt.

"There's enough food to go around," Jess said. "Even if we did lose..." She swallowed hard. "The rest of our supplies today. We'll, we'll restock."

It didn't take a genius to see that Jess had appointed herself the new leader of the group. She was standing stalwart and sure of herself, but she was also glancing at Dean and Sam for any sort of thought they could throw out. They'd been the leaders, he realized with a start. And here they were, back to lead, except this wasn't their group, and they were no leaders.

Sam cleared his throat and nodded. "We'll restock. We can check out back - we're out in the country enough that some of those trees were probably part of an orchard. It's summer, right? So there's bound to be something that isn't rotted."

Andy raised his eyebrow. "Are you sure they're not Sam and Dean? Because they sound a hell of a lot like them. I'm just saying."

"We're Sam and Dean," Dean said, before taking a breath. "I just don't think we're _your_ Sam and Dean."

There was barely any hesitation from when he spoke his last word to when Jo rounded on Ruby. "What did you do?" she said. "You said you were going to get them back-"

"I tried," Ruby said defensively. "I spent three goddamn days working that spell, giving my own blood and the last bit of herbs I had to try and pull them back, so don't you look at me and say this was my fault. I worked my ass off-"

"You screwed it up-"

"Stop!" Oscar said, and Ruby and Jo fell silent. "You're being stupid, both of you. Okay? Just, just stop."

It was Jess who spoke next. "Sam, when did we meet?"

Sam blinked. "Um, college. I tripped, you helped me pick up my books."

"That is so cliché," Ruby muttered. Dean glared at her and she subsided.

Jess stared at Sam, her gaze seemingly piercing straight through to his soul. Sam held his ground, his eyes drinking her in. If this was a shared dream that they were having, Dean didn't blame him. Zombies aside, this was Sam's Jess, in the flesh, and Sam wasn't going to get another chance to see her again.

She pursed her lips and posed another question. "When did we break up?"

Sam's eyes widened. "Break...? No, we never broke up."

Jess glared at him. "You broke up with me, and _twice_ at that, don't you tell me-"

"I never broke up with you! You, you died-"

"What, just like you said I would, Winchester? Because you were quite clear in telling me that we were done, that it was stupid to try and continue this when we were both going to die anyway-"

"I was going to ask for your hand!" Sam sputtered, and that brought Jess's tirade to a grinding halt. "I had a ring and I was going to ask you to marry me, and then, and then the demon that killed my mom came back and killed you!"

It was one of the things that Dean wasn't supposed to know about, but once he'd heard it, spoken from his possessed father's lips, he hadn't really forgotten it. When the smoke had cleared and Dean had finally gotten past his dad's death, he'd gone snooping around Sam's things, and there it had been. Tucked in a small hidden pocket, still in its box, was a beautiful ring. It had to have cost Sam a small fortune, and it had pained Dean to see it. A reminder of the future Sam had fought so hard for...and had lost in the span of one night.

Jess couldn't seem to take that in. She was staring at Sam as if he was a creature she'd never seen before. Sam looked like the only thing he wanted to do was to hold her, if his twitching fingers were any indication, but he stayed where he was. No one else said a word.

Dean decided someone had to start asking the questions, the real questions, and it might as well be him. "When did this start? The zombie stuff? Start from the beginning."

Andy, surprisingly, began the tale. "About three years ago, it really exploded. Some virus or whatever that couldn't be contained. People were dropping like flies and when they...well. When they came back, they started taking other people down with them.”

The Croatoan virus? But these zombies hadn’t looked like real people, they’d looked like corpses. “Can they run?” Dean asked.

Andy shook his head. “They can amble pretty quick, but they can’t run, thank god. It almost looks like they lead by their head. It’s weird. Anyway, it wasn't just here that got hit, it was everywhere. France was bad, the U.K. virtually disappeared overnight-"

"China was bad," Oscar added. He looked pale. "My parents were overseas, visiting family in Hong Kong. I got left behind because I had the flu, and no one wants a sick twelve-year-old on a long flight.” He stopped and swallowed hard. When he spoke again, it was with a soft, pained voice. “That was the last I ever saw of them."

Ruby stepped in then, moving in front of Oscar, clearly to give the kid time to pull himself together. "Demons stopped being the worst thing on the planet," she said. "Every demon sort of came out of hiding because turns out, if you're in the body of someone who gets bit? You can't get out. And then you die with it. So we all sort of banded together to survive."

"Demon zombies are bad," Andy said. Jo shuddered. "Demon zombies are really, really bad. Regular zombies are missing any real sort of energy. They move faster in the heat, don't know why. But they still trudge around, can’t run. You saw them. They're dangerous in packs. A demon zombie's very dangerous all on its own. It has super strength, and it _can_ run."

"Thus why I said my being here in the group was bad enough," Ruby finished. "I'm a liability. So if I get bit, I'm running one direction, and you're all running another."

"But that's not going to happen," Jo said. For someone who'd been all but yelling at her a little while before, Jo seemed just as fierce about keeping Ruby safe. "Got it?"

Ruby shrugged. "You've been warned. That's all I'm saying. And if it comes down to it, you'll run."

"Blah blah blah," Jess said, having apparently found her spine of steel again now that she wasn't looking at, or thinking about, Sam. "The world ended, everything collapsed. We all found each other, we've all been traveling together."

"We're trying to find my mom," Jo said, and the thought of Ellen made something in Dean's chest twist until he couldn't breathe. Sam looked just as wretched. "She was with Bobby Singer last. We had to split up. That was about three months ago. They're heading north, up to one of the islands off the coast of Maine or Nova Scotia. It'd be a lot safer - cold weather means that the zombies don't move as fast."

"Yeah, well, it didn't help that we had to take the long way around." Jess rolled her shoulders back. "We were heading for the gap in the Blue Mountains, to head into Virginia. Instead what we got was a valley with a swarm or five. And believe me, it's a sight I really wish I could forget."

"We got cut off. They went the way we were supposed to and we had to go south. And unfortunately, the next best place to cross is way, way, _way_ south. There's still wildlife around, and a lot of people hide in the mountains. It's dangerous. So we had to curve around."

"And there's the CDC," Andy pointed out when Ruby finished. "We thought that maybe they could help. So we went to Atlanta."

Dean raised his eyebrow. "And?"

Andy bit his lip. "There wasn't anything left, was there," Sam said knowingly.

Jo shook her head. "Actually, given the amount of zombies that were everywhere and the military presence that, well, _was_ there, we're pretty certain that Atlanta might've been ground zero. Or at least, America's ground zero."

Sam frowned. "And where are we now?"

"South Carolina," Ruby said. "We think. It's hard to figure out just where the hell we are."

The state wasn't exactly huge, but that was by car, which they obviously weren't driving. They'd maybe covered 10, 15 miles since they'd left the small town. It would take a long time to walk anywhere.

"It's been awhile," Jo said, as if hearing Dean's thoughts. "Like I said, three months."

"We've actually been making pretty decent time," Jess said. "We found an SUV to drive awhile back, which worked until we ran out of gas. It wasn't worth the risk of noise to find more. Hardly any gas left at this point anyway."

Sam took a breath. "What happened to us? Or, well, your Sam and Dean?"

"How about we ask questions for a change?" Ruby challenged, and there was a familiar fire in her eyes. "The hell were you two doing before you woke up here?"

"Eating gyros," Dean snapped. "Greek place down the street. Greasy as hell, but okay otherwise." He paused, a random thought flying through his mind. "You prefer chicken gyros, not lamb," he said, turning to Sam. Sam pursed his lips but said nothing, only confirming what Dean had suspected - he'd botched the order, the same as Sam had botched his coffee the other day. Stupid, small things, but they were both staples in their lives, and they most certainly both had their favorites. To forget it was an example of how they'd fallen apart recently. Purgatory, Benny, and that chick in Texas might’ve been the catalyst, but they’d torn each other down just fine on their own. It made his stomach clench up.

He just missed Sam. And it was stupid because the kid was right next to him but he missed his little brother. When had things gotten so damn complicated?

"Oh my god I would kill for Greek right now," Andy moaned. "A gyro sounds amazing. Anything sounds amazing, actually."

Jo reached out and smacked him in the arm. "Stop it, you're making me hungry."

"What were you doing before that?" Ruby demanded, ignoring the others. "What was before that?"

"We were driving between jobs," Sam said. "Looking for the next hunt. We'd grabbed a motel for the night. We were thinking of heading west, following a lead we'd found on the internet."

Oscar stared. "The internet. You still have internet." He looked so jealous Dean almost thought he’d sprout green horns.

"Internet's been gone since nearly the start of the outbreak," Jess said. "Which is the only reason we know what happened globally. Then the power stopped."

Ruby seemed to be easing up in terms of suspicion, but Dean could see it in her eyes that she still didn't trust them. "What happened right before you woke up? And I mean _right_ before you found yourself on the ground."

Dean shrugged. "Stomach ache. Thought it was the gyro, but then I got dizzy and couldn't find my balance. Fell over and watched the world do a Pink Floyd, and then I blinked and it cleared to, well. Here."

Ruby stared. "Not possible."

That was enough. "Yeah, it was, and I heard your witchcraft was the cause," he snapped. "Like my life wasn't hell enough without adding zombie war to it?"

"Did you do this?" Sam asked, and thank god he was angry too and not bewitched under her spell like he had been before. Maybe Jess being there was helping. "Because I swear to god-"

"It's not _possible_!" Ruby exclaimed. "You can't, you can't cross between worlds like that! No one's ever done it before, not once, and they've tried. Well. No one _successfully_. There's been a few literal pieces tossed through from world to world but nothing whole has ever made it through. You always lose something of yourself when you cross through. Unless..."

Her face lost all of its color, even as Dean tried to figure out just what she was talking about. "Unless _what_?" Sam asked.

Ruby met Dean's eyes first, and all he could see was fear. "Unless it was a complete swap. Two bodies for two bodies close together."

"Oh my god," Jess breathed. "Ruby, you _didn't_."

Ruby swallowed and looked so helpless that for a moment, Dean forgot about the demon who'd torn their lives to shreds and helped release Lucifer. "It's, it's never been done," she stammered, voice small. "You don't understand, it's never been done."

"Would someone actually speak in a full sentence because I'm really lost," Oscar said. "I was lost after gyros."

Andy looked ill. "Um. We got another world's Dean and Sam after we gave them ours? Is that seriously what you're saying?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, and Jo cursed a blue streak. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose. "And this is an issue why?"

"Internet, right?" Ruby said, ignoring him. "Greek food, open highways with gas stations and living people and French fries. That's what your world has."

"Yeah, _why_?"

It was Jo who answered, her voice so soft he almost couldn’t hear her. "We were trying to save you both. Trying to heal you, to bring you back before...before the disease took over."

It only took three seconds for that to sink into his head, and Dean's stomach dropped somewhere to the location of his ankles. Sam's stunned, "Oh god," made him want to vomit.

"Which one of us?" Dean asked shakily. "Which one of us got bit?"

"You're not hearing me, Shortbus," Ruby said. "We dragged _both_ of you here. We tried to get _both_ of you back."

That meant...

Dean shut his eyes tight.

Both of them. Both of them had been bitten, and Ruby had tried to save them. In the process, she'd hauled Sam and Dean from their world, and switched them with this world’s Sam and Dean.

Two very zombie infected Winchester brothers. In a non-zombie infected world.

And no angel to help protect it.

"Shit," he murmured, and that was about all that could be said.


	4. (Re)Connecting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jess gets a chance to compare this Sam with the Sam of her world. And elsewhere, two Winchesters wake up..

"We have to switch them back."

"And how exactly do you propose we do that? I didn't know that I could do it the first time!"

"You need herbs, right? I can get you herbs."

"This isn't about garlic and thyme you moron. These are rare herbs, herbs that can only be found on certain mountain peaks, certain valleys, certain corners of the world. Certain corners of the world that are _no longer available_ to us."

"Can't you just...zap there?"

"I haven't been able to 'zap' anywhere without immense amounts of pain for a while, Andy. Or do you not remember the blood fest the last time I came back?"

Jess let her head fall forward until it was almost on her knees. A small bucket had been found outside, along with some other tools, though nothing sharp enough to kill with. They’d used them all to bring in fruit from the two small fruit trees and a walnut tree not far from the house, and the fruit, though almost overripe and small, had been delicious going down her throat. Real food that didn't come from a can. It was funny - she'd always thought, taking the zombie survival silly quizzes on the internet, that she'd hole up somewhere and do a garden to keep herself alive. Not wander America trying to reach an island near the Canadian border. Did countries even matter, anymore?

Beyond her, Oscar, Jo, Andy, and Ruby were still getting into it. Dean - other-Dean, she reminded herself - was sitting and watching them with the calculated look she'd come to recognize. He could look like he wasn't paying attention when he had every sense open and aware of the situation. This Dean was a little more closed off, yet still more vulnerable than the one she knew. This one had been through the wringer in different ways. She wondered what their world was like. It was clear that he was pained every time he looked at the group.

He wasn't the only one.

Sam couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her. It was...different. Not like the army soldier way her Sam would bark at her, the way he'd look at her with hooded eyes and sometimes regret before changing his tune again. Her Sam tried to stay as far away from her as he could, and it _hurt_.

But this Sam? This other-Sam?

She glanced his way and found him pretending to not look at her. He watched her with a pain that she only saw when you lost someone. He'd really lost her, then, in his world. She'd died a horrible death in his world. He'd been planning on _marrying_ her. God.

She watched him turn a fruit branch into a spear with the help of Jo's blade. Their Sam and Dean had lost their things in a recent zombie swarm, so they didn’t have anything to give this other world’s version of the Winchesters. Given that they'd walked away, alive, they'd counted it as a win.

Until she'd seen the teeth marks on Sam's arm and Dean's collarbone. It hadn't felt like much of a win at that point.

If he looked her way one more time, she was going to...she didn't know what, but she'd figure it out. With a sigh she rose from her makeshift seat and wandered over to Sam. He immediately began to rise, but she waved him back down. "It's fine," she insisted. "You can stop looking like a jackrabbit ready to run."

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable," he said. Up close, she could see the lines in his forehead that not even her Sam had, the slightly neater trim to his long hair, the different scars that her Sam didn't have. Now that the fuss had died down, she could clearly see this wasn't her Sam. Then again, she couldn't really claim him as hers anymore, now could she? Dumped the first time when he had to leave with his brother in the dead of night, and then dumped again when they met up years later by chance after the outbreak.

"You're not," she finally said. "Seriously. Just...weird. Whole different you."

Sam huffed a laugh. "Whole living you. I hear you." He glanced at her with that shy smile that had tugged at her heartstrings years ago, and she swallowed hard. _He's not staying,_ she informed herself again. _He's heading back to his world as soon as Ruby figures it out._

"So...how long since...?"

Sam frowned. "Since...?"

"Since I've been dead." And that was probably one of the oddest things she'd ever said.

Sam winced. "Years," he said, his voice fading. "You've been gone years."

"Who'd you find?" she asked. When Sam frowned again, Jess rolled her eyes. "Who did you hook up with later? C'mon Sam, who'd you date, move in with?"

Sam watched her, and in the candlelight, she could read every emotion on his face. "I had a few dates," he said. "One I tried to live with recently, but she was mostly a hold-over so I could keep breathing. No one besides you."

Jess blinked. That...she hadn't expected that. Not that level of devotion. Especially given the way that her Sam had let her go twice. This other-Sam obviously missed her and held her dear. Even now, years after she was dead in his world, and he still hadn't let her go.

"You were always the only one for me," he said quietly. "I tried to move on, a few dates here and there, felt like things were...well. As serious as they could get with our lifestyle. But I kept comparing them to you, missing you, and..." He shrugged. "They weren't you. Even Amelia, the one I moved in with for a bit. They were never going to be the woman I loved and lost."

He paused, letting her head spin on its own for a short time. "I don't know what happened between this world's Sam and you, but...he shot himself in the foot. Big time. What I'd give to see you again, I...I..."

He swallowed back his emotions and took a deep breath. "Zombies aren't exactly anyone's dream," he said. "But seeing you again is worth that."

Jess could feel her eyes start to sting, and she fiercely blinked it away. "Yeah, well, wait until you deal with them up close," she said. "You'll be rethinking that."

Sam gave a soft laugh, the kind she hadn't heard from him in ages. "Maybe. Probably not. I've seen some pretty rotten things in my line of work."

"Rotten flesh?" she questioned.

"Rotten oozing flesh," he volleyed back, and she found herself slowly grinning. She couldn't remember the last time she'd genuinely smiled.

"Green skin?"

"Purple skin, red skin, polka-dotted skin," he quipped, his own lips turned up, and she gave a helpless giggle.

Someone cleared their throat, breaking the moment. Ruby was watching them with a raised eyebrow, and Jess felt her cheeks warm under the scrutiny. "If we're done with the Seuss rendition of the demon world, we have a plan," she said.

"Which is?" Dean asked. He'd been nothing of suspicious of Ruby since they'd 'arrived', and Jess had a half-suspicion of her own forming as to why he was so against her. Nothing she'd voice out loud.

"Putting you two back where you belong," the demon countered. "We're going to need a mirror."

This at least sounded like Ruby had some form of plan going, and right now, that was good enough for her. "What kind of mirror?" Jess asked, rising to her feet. She hadn't gotten very far when Sam stood with her, as if to offer her his hand. He wound up putting it back at his side and awkwardly wiping it on his jeans, which stupidly enough only made certain feelings stir again. Feelings she'd told to drop dead eons ago.

"Not a kind," Ruby said. "A particular mirror. And, if I'm right about this, it's still there." To Dean she asked, "Do you remember the motel you were in when you 'switched'?"

"Yeah, why?"

Ruby rolled her eyes at his sharp tone. "Ease up, Shortbus. We have to find the same place you were in before you moved over. I think if we do that, we should be able to make a conduit between your world and ours."

Andy frowned. "I thought you needed herbs," he said. Jo crossed her arms and raised an expectant eyebrow.

The look on Ruby’s face almost made Jess want to grin again. This was Ruby at her most annoyed but attempting to stay calm. "I did for the initial spell,” she said, words slow and drawn out, “and it probably only worked because they were in such close proximity. You guys were in North or South Carolina, weren't you?"

"How did you know?" Sam asked.

"Because my spell wouldn't have been able to pull this off unless you'd been close." Ruby still sounded as if she was explaining how to breathe to a child, and Jess stifled a snicker. Dean looked pissed off as it was. "I don't have the herbs this time around, but mirrors have always worked as conduits to other worlds and dimensions. Why do you think Lewis Carroll wrote _Through the Looking Glass_?"

"Okay, so, wait, hold on." Jo took a breath. "We find the motel they were staying in, we find the room with the mirror, and we can, what, reach across?"

"That's my hope. I don't have anything else, sorry. Best shot we've got."

Dean gave voice to the fear that was slowly starting to creep up the back of Jess's neck. "And what do we do then? Because I don't exactly hear you with a concrete plan."

"Because I don't have one," Ruby said. "This is all I've got. Take it or leave it."

The room fell silent. Jess counted to three in her head before turning to Sam. "Where were you guys?"

"A little less than two hours out from Raleigh," Sam said. "We’d just passed over the state line and decided to stop for the night."

Oscar clutched at the bottom of his hoodie. "We passed a sign yesterday saying Raleigh was around a hundred and sixty miles away," he said despairingly. "And what if our Sam and Dean take off before we can get there?"

"I don't have time for what-ifs," Ruby snapped. "We do the best we can. That's all we can do, okay? We can make this right. Just...just bear with me. I'm doing the best I can, this is new and different for the entire damn _world_. No one's successfully world hopped before."

"No one's ever recorded zombies before either," Andy said quietly. "Ta-da."

It was Sam who spoke first after the following heavy silence. "Okay. We head towards Raleigh. We're probably very close to the border." He paused, then glanced at Jess. "Do you mind if...?"

Asking her if he could take the lead. Always her thoughtful Sam. This other-Sam was closer to the Sam she'd first met, the Sam she'd fallen for, not the militaristic one who she'd met up with years later. The loss of Jess had left him this way, his experiences had carved him into this Sam. She swallowed hard. "No, go ahead."

"We head out before dawn breaks, if at all possible. The cooler the temp, the safer we'll be, right? And we need a vehicle."

"That'll be harder than anything else," Jo said. "Cars dried up a long, long time ago."

"Well, we don't have time to waste," Dean said. "If we've got any chance of saving the other world, we've gotta get to Raleigh before our other selves start wandering around and turning everyone into zombies."

Ruby took a deep breath. "We'll find something." Then she headed for the door. "In fact, _I'll_ find something and bring it back."

"What? No!" Jess hurried to her feet, feeling every ounce of weariness fade to nothing as her adrenaline spiked again. She reached for the demon, only for Ruby to pull away. Jess stared, feeling her fear burn into anger. "No. You're not going out there."

Ruby pursed her lips. "We need a vehicle. I'll be fine. The sooner I get back, the sooner we can move forward."

"It's suicide," Dean said, surprisingly. Ruby raised her eyebrows at him. "You go out there, you're dead."

"And if I don't, we're all dead. Not an option, Shortbus. I'm probably dead as it is. Let's not make it worse."

"One of us could go with you-"

"You'll stay put," Ruby snapped, cutting Oscar off. When he physically recoiled at her tone, she softened. "I don't need you in the line of fire. You're a good shot, Oscar, it's got nothing to do with that and everything to do with you being safe. Okay?"

"What about me?" Jo asked.

Even before Dean and Sam could protest - which it looked like they were getting ready to do - Ruby shook her head. "Sorry Oakley, you stay put. I don't need you putting yourself on the line, either. That's final."

"Oakley?" Sam asked.

Jess huffed. "Annie Oakley. It's her nickname for Jo."

"How come I still wound up with Shortbus?" Dean said in a tone that Jess could've sworn was a _whine_. "She gets a cool name-"

"I pick by personality," Ruby drawled. "You want a different name, act like something other than a Shortbus."

Dean flipped her off, and Ruby's lips turned up a little. Jess didn't realize what a relief it was to see until she felt her shoulders drop. "Then get going," Sam said, but there was no anger in his tone anymore either. "And...be careful."

Ruby gave him a quick salute and headed for the door. She gave a long look both ways, sniffed the air, then took off running. Jo and Oscar watched her go from the sides of the windows, and neither looked happy. The pall that had been lifted dropped on top of them again like an anvil. It felt like the air itself was metal, cutting into her lungs and leaving her unable to breathe.

Dean cleared his throat. "Is there a time limit before we move on...?"

"She knows which way we're going," Jess said. "She knows not to come all the way back to find us. The less she has to travel back to find us, the better off we'll all be."

"So we just...sleep?" Andy said.

"If you don't want to, you can take a shift to watch," Sam offered. Andy finally nodded after a long moment, and Jo handed him her rifle. One by one they found places to put their head, but it was a long time before Jess found herself drifting off.

She could still feel Sam's gaze on her the whole time, and it strangely enough made her feel a little better.

The sun filtered in through the window, making Dean wince. He'd slept funny, and he rolled his shoulder to push out the kink. The room smelled stale, now, and he pushed himself to rising.

The slamming of the door startled him into full wakefulness, and he instinctively reached for his gun. It wasn't there, and he desperately looked around for a weapon, any weapon.

"Dean! It's just me."

Dean let out a shaky breath. "Jesus, Sam. Way to scare a guy." He rolled his shoulder again and winced. "We ready to head out?"

Sam didn't answer. Dean glanced up and frowned at the pale face greeting him. "Sam? What's the matter?"

Sam swallowed hard. "You...you need to come see this. Right now."

Dean was on his feet in an instant. Sam headed for the door, no weapon in his hand, and Dean raced after him. "What the _hell_ are you doing, you know they could be anywhere-"

Sam popped the door open, and Dean was temporarily blinded by the sunlight. When he managed to regain his sight, however, he rubbed at his eyes, then again, then a third time. Because this couldn't be right.

Cars passed by on the road, going so fast it made his head spin. Somewhere, a crying baby was heard, and then the mother's shushing calmed it. The pizza place across the street was already open, and people were leaving with steaming boxes. The sun was warm, and somewhere off near trimmed greenery, children laughed.

Dean gripped the side of the doorway before he fell over. "What...what...?"

"I walked up and down the street just because I could," Sam said in wonderment. "It's, Dean, it's all over the place. People. _People_. There's no news outlet on the internet that talks about the disease-"

Holy mother of god the _internet_. Andy and Caleb would appreciate the chance to look up Busty Asian Beauties again-

Andy. Caleb. Jo. Jess. Ruby. Herb and Ryan. "Where are the others?" he asked. "Sam, where are they?"

"No clue. I couldn't find them. It was just you and me." Sam paused. "I don't, I don't remember anything. Do you?"

Dean shook his head slowly, and the motion shot pain up his neck and down through his shoulder. "I, ow, no. I don't remember either." He gingerly brushed up against his neck, and when he hit his collarbone, he froze. Pain, sure, but ragged skin, something wet, something-

"Oh god, Dean," Sam whispered. Dean turned to Sam and found him staring at his own wrist. His bloody, torn wrist with evident teeth marks. He met Dean's eyes, and Dean could see his own fear reflected in them.

Bitten, infected, and in some weird world that looked nothing like the one he'd fallen asleep in. Or had they died and this was the afterlife? He had no idea what heaven or hell looked like, but he would've guessed that this wasn't hell.

The pain was impossible to ignore now, and Dean slowly ducked back into the hotel room. There were bags of things that looked like their duffels had been before the outbreak. Like the disease had never happened. He shook his head, completely baffled, and winced again.

"Now what?" Sam asked.

Dean glanced down at himself and his blood-soaked clothes, then shook his head. Plan, implementation, follow-through. It was how they’d lived for the past several years and it had gotten them through worse. "I'm going to see if there's a shower, get cleaned up, and then...well. Then you and I are gonna figure out just what the fuck happened."

"Roger," Sam said with a snap of his head. Dean gave the return nod and then headed for the bathroom. It was as clean as motels got, but it was cleaner than anything Dean had seen in a long time.

The hot water was worth every second he was under it. It was almost easy to ignore the throbbing pain on his shoulder.


	5. Down the Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group asks Sam and Dean a lot of questions. The boys figure things out for themselves. In the other world, a stranger comes looking for the Winchesters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have this theory about Ruby and it plays out here in this chapter. As much as I love an evil Ruby, I love the good Ruby, too.
> 
> Thanks for the comments thus far! Hope you continue to enjoy!

By morning, Ruby wasn't back, but it was well past time to move on. In the light of day, the house wasn't nearly as defensible as they would've liked, and there was no food or anything left to be found. They still gathered up the last of the fruit, no matter how small or overripe it looked, and then they set off down the road.

It was Andy who started the conversation. "So I might as well address the elephant galumping down the road," he said. "You two have a serious beef with Ruby. And I want to know what it is."

"You really don't," Sam said. His lips were tight with that anger again, and Dean looked much the same. Neither looked at each other.

Jo crossed her arms and hurried to walk more in front of them, making her stance clear: if she wanted to stop them, she could and she would. "No, Andy's right. Ruby's been a part of this group for months. You both – the Dean and Sam of this world – trusted her. She's saved our lives. Just because demons might not be friendly in your world doesn't mean she can't be trusted."

Ruby had done more than save their lives. She'd saved Ellen's life. That was a debt Jo could never repay. The demon deserved respect for that alone.

"Jo, leave it," Dean snapped.

Jess brought her rifle to the front. It wasn't a threat in the slightest, but it caught the attention of both brothers. "I think what Jo and Andy are saying is that we're going to need to know before we can continue with you both."

Sam caved, just like Jo had figured he would. This was such a different Sam from the one she'd known. This one was kitten eyes for Jess all the time, not just when he thought Jess wasn't looking. There was such grief there that it was hard to watch. Actually, there was a lot of grief there, and she saw it when they looked at her, too. In their world, she was dead.

She wondered if her mom was dead there. That left her feeling sicker than the thought of her own demise.

"Ruby betrayed us," Sam said quietly. "She betrayed _me_. She lured me into a stupid trap that I fell for and I caused the world-" He swallowed and couldn't seem to continue. His eyes were cast to the ground now, and his shoulder closest to Dean was raised as if to ward off a blow.

Jo frowned. This wasn't how the brothers behaved. They were stalwart and sure, best friends and confidants. You didn't mess with either of them without inviting trouble from the other one. They breathed the same air, they walked in each other's footsteps. You didn't say Sam or Dean, you said Sam and Dean. One word.

There was something wrong with these two, more than just their ire at Ruby. Whatever was wrong with these two had splintered them apart, and it left her physically ill to look at. 

"I screwed up," Sam said. "And Ruby's a huge part of that."

"We both screwed up," Dean said. Sam raised his head, surprised. Dean pursed his lips but said again, "We _both_ screwed up. Ruby pitted us both against each other and the world almost damn near ended. And I mean that literally, by the way," he added when Oscar stared at him with wide eyes. "We both had a hand in it, but it wouldn't have gotten that far if it hadn't been for Ruby's meddling and backstabbing."

"For someone who's so pissed at her with what sound like valid reasons, you seemed awful quick to forgive her," Jo commented. Both Dean and Sam had sounded worried about the demon leaving the night before. That wasn't something you did for someone who'd broken you apart from your best friend and brother.

Dean sighed. "She wasn't always like that," he admitted. "Ruby had been a friend for a while. She'd helped us out. Then Alistair got involved with the hunt for Lilith."

Sam's eyebrows furrowed. "You're right. I never thought about it, but Ruby was...different, after she was rescued from Alistair. She wasn't the same. She pushed the...well. _That_.” He looked sick for a minute before he continued. “She'd never done that before Alistair."

"Who's Alistair?" Andy asked.

"Nasty demon. Specialized in torture." Dean looked as if he were remembering, and Jo shivered. It didn't look like a nice remembering. He looked…scared. It made her own stomach turn, thinking about just how Dean would know that.

Sam, on the other hand, looked murderous. "He got what he deserved. That part of what happened I don't regret at all, and I'd do it again."

Dean glanced his way and half smiled, almost shyly. Whatever had happened with Alistair, it sounded like Sam had taken care of the demon. That, Jo could approve of. That sounded more like the Sam and Dean she knew.

"So Ruby was different after this demon tortured her?" Jess guessed. "Is that what you're thinking?"

"I'm thinking she wasn't even the same demon, period," Dean said. "The more I think about it, the more it was a complete personality change. I think they probably cast her back down to Hell."

"It would explain a lot," Sam said. He paused, then added hesitantly, in a softer voice clearly meant for only Dean, "That doesn't absolve me of-"

"Blank slate. And I've never been more fucking adamant about that then now, Sammy. I meant it then, and I mean it now."

It was Dean's turn to stand tall and Sam's turn to look heartbreakingly small. Jo glanced at Jess, and Jess shrugged. She was watching Sam more than Dean, though, and Jo wondered. There was a lot to wonder about.

Christ. She'd thought getting up to Maine would be hard. Navigating the minefield that was this version of the brothers was worse.

"So you're not going to try and kill Ruby at the first chance you get?" Andy finally asked. "Because she's sort of a friend and we're getting low on those."

Sam snorted. "No, we're not going to kill her. We're not going to be here that long, remember? If Ruby hasn't double crossed you, then we're not going to damage that. If she's the Ruby we first remembered, then yeah. She's a good ally."

"Cool. Because we've got enough problems as it is, as I'm sure you've noticed," Oscar said. He kicked at a rock in the road and then winced when it collided with a nearby abandoned car. "Sorry," he offered.

A groan was his answer. Everyone immediately pulled their weapons out and froze in place, waiting. Shuffling sounds indicated movement in the dirt and Jo raised her rifle. Slow movements, confused. She knew what that was. They all did.

Surprisingly, Dean took the lead, moving forward with one of the spears they’d crafted the night before. He motioned to Sam to move around the other way and Sam gave a firm nod before moving with his own spear. They moved silently and in tandem, and whatever their other issues, they were just as tight and meticulous together as the Sam and Dean that Jo knew.

Another groan, and Jo followed behind Dean. Spear or not, it wasn’t a gun. He gave a quick nod to acknowledge her presence then carefully eased himself around the front of the car.

Half of a person was shuffling through the dirt. It had nothing from below the hips except blackened stumps. It looked like it could’ve been a woman at one point, but there was nothing to really distinguish that at this point. Just some skin pulling over the skeleton and sunken, yellowed eyes. It hissed and snarled at the sight of Dean and tried to drag itself closer with its two remaining arms.

Jo raised her rifle but Dean shook his head. Sam was behind the car now, spear raised, and Dean carefully took two steps back. “Come get me,” he taunted quietly, and the zombie followed, snarling and licking its lips with what remained of its tongue. Jo made a face but said nothing. She was sort of grateful that she hadn’t eaten anything in a few hours. Even after all this time, it still turned her stomach.

It never saw Sam coming. With one hard swing the branch cracked the skull open, and Sam immediately plunged the sharp point into the hole. The zombie immediately lurched to a stop and hit the ground, permanently dead.

Dean lowered his spear but surprisingly didn’t relax. “They usually go alone?” he asked, voice pitched low. “You talked about swarms.”

“Swarms are rare,” Jo told him. “Stragglers are the more common thing we come across. Maybe a few together.”

Sam tried to wipe the spear on the nearly grass. “Anything else we need to do with them? Burn them?”

“Head’s fine,” Jess said. “It’s something to do with the nervous system. If you can disrupt that, then they’re down for the count. So technically speaking, severing the spine in the back should do it but-“

“Head’s easier,” Dean finished. He glanced towards the forest they’d been walking along beside, and Jo followed his gaze. She couldn’t see or hear anything, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t anything in there. “Sam,” he said, and Sam nodded and headed towards the tree line. Jess suddenly darted after him, startling Jo.

Andy hurried over, eyes wide. “What are you doing?”

“If there’s more, last thing we need is for them to follow us and block us in if we meet more,” Dean said firmly. “Better to deal with them now.”

It made tactical sense, but having them out of sight made Jo’s anxiety rise and her heartbeat pound uncontrollably. Her eyes darted everywhere, seeking out where more might be hiding. The only thing that made her feel the slightest bit better was that Dean watched, too, tense and clearly seeking out his little brother.

She felt like an idiot. She’d gotten so wrapped up in the stories of these other Winchesters that she hadn’t kept vigilance. _Be aware of your surroundings._ The first rule in any hunt that she’d learned as a child, one that her mom had pushed harder and harder after the outbreak.

Her eyes went back to Dean who was watching her now. “They’ll be all right,” he promised. “We’re not gonna let anything happen to you.”

It shouldn’t have made her feel better, but for some reason, it did. A moment later a crashing sound came out of the trees and she raised her rifle expectantly.

Sam came out, Jess right beside him. Neither looked harmed, and when Sam shook his head, Jo felt the tension leave her so fast she thought she’d have to sit down. “Nothing,” he confirmed. “Just the one straggler.”

“Good.” Then Dean headed for the trunk of the car that was sitting ajar.

Oscar frowned. “Um, what are you doing?”

“Getting weapons.”

Weapons? Even Jo frowned until she realized he was pulling up the spare tire. Underneath it was a tire iron. Perfect for removing lug nuts and heads.

He hefted it and swung it around in his hands, then nodded towards another two vehicles further down the road. “Let’s see what we can find,” he said. “Preferably something else that’s more metal, less wood.”

Not only did they find another tire iron, but they also found a flashlight in a glove box, along with a backpack filled with photos and papers. Sam carefully pulled them out and placed them on the seat, almost reverently, and it stunned Jo at how different this Sam was. Her Sam would’ve tossed them since they weren’t helpful, and Jo would’ve thought nothing of it.

Yet here was Sam, a Sam who’d been through hell and back, and he still handled the photos as if they mattered. It made something clog her throat and she had to blink back a sudden burn in her eyes.

Even Dean looked solemn as the photos were set aside, and he patiently waited until Sam had done so. Only then did he move to start filling up the bag with the flashlight and something else, which Jo realized was a small first aid kit and what looked like two emergency ponchos. “Thank god for the prepared travelers, eh?” he asked. He slung the bag over his shoulder.

It had been a while since they’d had to scavenge things. They’d have to build back up: their Sam and Dean had had a lot of their supplies. Even when they’d lost the bags, Jo had figured they’d come out ahead because Sam and Dean had gotten out alive.

Then they’d seen the bites, right before Sam and Dean had collapsed.

“Jo?”

Jo snapped her head up. Sam was watching her with the same quiet grief in his eyes that Dean had. It was humbling, that they’d felt her death so strongly that even now they watched her with heartbreak. She wondered briefly if she’d had a chance with Dean in the other world. He’d flirted a little, mostly as a distraction from scrapes and bad times, but otherwise hadn’t shown any interest. She’d definitely been interested, once upon a time.

She didn’t think about him that way anymore. And she wasn’t following that thought to who she _did_ think about.

Focus. She had things to do. “Let’s keep going,” she said. The sky already hung above them, hot in the afternoon. Any other zombies out and about were going to be faster. And that was the last thing they needed. Who knew where another safe place to rest would be.

Together they headed down the road again, armed a little better. After a while she found herself sliding back into her typical position – second to the rear, eyes constantly scanning the horizon. Jess ahead of her and slightly off to the side, Andy off to the other side, Oscar neatly sandwiched between them. Dean and Sam led at the front, together as always.

It dawned on Jo then that she was the rear without Ruby around. They didn’t split up often, and now they were down even more people. Caleb, Herb, Ryan, all dead and gone. Mom and Bobby, still gone.

They’d get their Sam and Dean back. They’d find Mom and Bobby. They’d get to the island and they’d be fine.

Yeah. She could cling to that.

“So.”

Yeah, that wasn’t an ominous start at all. “Yes?” he asked all the same. He didn’t want to shut his brother down. Especially the brother who didn’t exactly _talk_.

Dean didn’t say anything for a minute or two, then hesitantly offered up, “I didn’t know you still thought about it.”

Sam frowned. “Thought about what?”

“You know. The apocalypse. What happened.”

That was a generous way of summarizing perhaps Sam’s greatest mistake. “I never stop thinking about it,” he admitted. “It’s always there, in the back of my head.”

“Why?” Dean asked, and he sounded honestly confused. “That was years ago.”

“Yeah but we’ve never been the same since.” He tried to think of how he wanted to put it. “You and I, we were best friends. You gave up your _life_ for me. And when I tried to do the same, I…” He swallowed hard. It wasn’t easy to talk about how much he’d screwed up. “Well. We’ve never been the same since.”

He wasn’t going to think about Benny and how he was apparently a better brother than Sam. Not going to do it. God but even Castiel he would’ve understood better, not a vampire-

Not. Doing it.

Dean went silent, and Sam let him. The dusty road ahead of them had cracked in various places and nature had taken over, with weeds and small saplings already making their way through the asphalt. There were no cars in this stretch, at least, just the tall trees on either side of them. If zombies came at them, they’d see them.

“You think I wouldn’t do it again.”

Sam pulled himself back to the conversation. “Do what?”

“Give my life for you.”

This was absolutely the last thing Sam wanted to talk about. “You think we’re close to the interstate?” he asked, neatly sidestepping the question. “I haven’t seen any state route signs and this is definitely a state route.”

Dean caught his elbow and Sam snapped his mouth shut. He didn’t want to have this conversation. He _didn’t_. He resolutely kept walking, because stopping at least they couldn’t afford to do. They had to catch up as fast as they could.

Dean didn’t let go. “Because I would,” he said quietly. “Without hesitation.”

Sam jerked his head towards his brother, mouth falling open in shock. Dean met his gaze resolutely. “I mean it,” Dean told him. “I know things got bad-“

“Haven’t stopped,” Sam said incredulously. “And you can’t mean that, you’ve got Benny-“

“I told Benny that we’re through,” Dean said. “He’s a good friend, don’t get me wrong, and damn handy in a fight-“

“Yeah, got it,” Sam said miserably and tried to pull his arm back.

Dean refused to let go, though. “He’s not you,” he finally said. “Sammy, he’s not ever gonna be you. No one could be. And I wouldn’t want them to be either.”

It felt like there’d been a thorn stuck into his side, one that had refused to budge loose, and his brother’s words had gently plucked it free. He took a deep breath and it didn’t hurt. How much tension had he been carrying in his body, anyway?

“Okay?” Dean asked when he didn’t say anything.

Sam nodded jerkily and found to his horror that his eyes were burning. “Yeah, okay,” he managed to get out. It was more than he’d expected. More than he could have hoped.

Maybe they could actually be brothers again, when they got back to their world. Maybe something good could come of this. Something besides getting a chance to see Jo and Andy again.

Getting to see Jess again.

Dean let his arm go at last but only to move his hand to grasp the back of Sam’s neck. “So let it go, all right?” he said roughly. “The whole apocalypse thing was a pile of crap from the get-go. We both got played. And the end result was that I lost my little brother to a massive hole in the ground and the Devil himself.”

Sam really let himself look at his brother and found that Dean’s face held the same amount of self-loathing he usually saw on himself. It wasn’t one that he wanted to ever see on Dean. “It was my choice,” he said. Dean looked like he’d bitten into something sour. He thought back over their conversation and pursed his lips. “And I’d do it all over again if it meant keeping you safe.”

He lost Dean’s hand on the back of his neck but only because his brother needed it to rub over his mouth – a sure sign that he was emotional but refused to show it. “Yeah, well,” Dean started, then stopped. He tried again, and this time got words out that sounded like language. “I don’t want you to ever deal with Lucifer again. Real or not. I’m done with douchebag angels.”

He stopped and his face twisted in pain, and Sam suddenly realized he’d gone from thinking about Lucifer to an angel that they wished they hadn’t lost. He had a general idea of what had happened, but not the full story, not really. Only that Castiel had been lost to Purgatory. Dean had gotten out, and Castiel hadn’t.

“I’m sorry, did you just say ‘angels’?”

Sam jumped at Andy’s voice and turned around to where the others had stopped, eyes wide. “Uh, yeah?” Dean said. He seemed to have forgotten that the others were there, too.

“There are _angels_?” Jo asked incredulously.

Sam frowned. “Demons you believe but angels you don’t?”

“I’ve seen demons.” Jo shrugged. “Zombies, revenants, spirits, I’ve seen all of those. But I’ve never seen proof of angels.”

Oscar looked even more upset than before. “So there’s actual angels and they’re just, what, letting us all die?”

Oh. “There are angels in our world,” Sam told him gently. “That doesn’t mean that there are angels here, though. And they only showed up to make a mess of things, so honestly, they’re not the perfect saviors you think they are. Well. The majority of them are a crapshoot.” Because even if he wasn’t there, Castiel deserved to be defended. Even after the wall and the leviathans and everything, Cas had been their friend.

“So there are good angels?” Jess asked. She looked enthralled, and it was the first time that he’d seen the softer side of Jess all day, the Jess that he’d known. Her family had been heavily religious and Sam had always loved that about her, her belief in angels and better things than the evil he’d confronted as a hunter.

Then he’d lost her. Then he’d met the real angels.

“There are a few, including a friend of ours,” Sam began but Dean cut him off.

“Cas is gone now. For good. So there’s no good angels left.”

Before anyone else could ask more questions, Sam cut in. “Let’s keep going. I’d really like a marker to make sure we’re going the right way. And staying in one place isn’t good.”

Jess glanced at him and there were a million questions in her gaze. Despite them, however, she gave a firm nod. “Come on guys, let’s keep moving. You stop, you die.”

“Aren’t you cheery today,” Andy muttered, but he put his feet to the ground and kept moving. Sam gave her a grateful nod and her cheeks went a dull red. She always had been able to read a person and know what needed to be done. She’d read him, and she’d clearly read Dean.

Castiel was a sore spot, a wound that wasn’t going to close anytime soon. As much as Sam missed their friend, he knew that it would never burn like it did to Dean. The angel meant _something_ to his brother, something Dean probably didn’t even realize. Well. Maybe realized now, too little, too late.

He pulled himself together and gave Dean a nudge. “Come on,” he said quietly. “The interstate has to be around here somewhere.”

“Yeah,” Dean muttered. But he nudged Sam back and asked, “You good?”

Not 100%, but a million times better than he had been before. “Yeah, we are,” Sam said, and didn’t miss how Dean stood a little straighter, the lines from his face easing.

They headed down the road again leading the group, side by side.

They wandered up and down the street together just because they could. Lights were on, people were out, cars drove past. Dean had absolutely no shame in staring at everyone and everything. If this was his afterlife, he’d take it.

Because the bite marks could only mean one thing. And how else had he gotten to a world with people and things in it if he were alive?

“This feels real,” Sam said. He took another bite of his gyro and closed his eyes in bliss. They were sitting outside at a park eating food, real food that someone else had made for them, and they were gorging themselves, thanks to a credit card they’d found in a wallet that had looked a lot like Dean’s. You never knew when the next meal might be. “This _tastes_ real.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem,” Dean said, but he took another huge bite of his gyro. God but it was all so _good_. “This can’t be real,” he said in between bites.

Sam didn’t even call him out for his messy eating. A lot of niceties went by the wayside when you were trying to survive. He also didn’t call Dean out about his comment. “I know, but if it’s not real, then what is this? Some, what, fever dream?”

He’d wondered that. He put his hand to his forehead, and then to Sam’s, for the third time that day. No real fever yet, and that always came first after you were bit. Then the raging fire that took over, sweating blood, the fuzziness, the lack of cognizance, the raging hunger that boiled in your stomach…

He’d heard it a million times from people trying desperately to describe what was going on. All the while pleading that it was just the flu, they’d be fine, they weren’t infected. But the bite marks were always proof enough, and the black lines that spread out from the bite straight to your spine meant the end of the line.

He figured it said a lot about him that even the thought of the infection wasn’t enough to deter him from taking another bite. Food was a gift, and here it was basically hanging off of every street corner, ready for the taking.

Sam finished his gyro and leaned against the table. Dean didn’t miss the wince as he pressed his injured arm against the wood. “Still hurts?” Dean asked, pushing down the emotion that threatened to swallow him. He’d lost a lot of people to the undead virus. But losing Sam was…well. Not something he was going to handle well.

He got a wince. “Hasn’t really stopped,” Sam admitted. “I’ve been trying to ignore it. If it’s…that. It’s taking its sweet time. We should’ve been turned already. Been dead already.”

But they hadn’t and they weren’t. “We need to figure this out, find the others. We need to get a hold of someone, anyone. If this world’s still turning, but we got dropped somewhere with salt and ammo, then there’s still things to hunt. And that means hunters.”

“And answers.”

“That’s what I’m hoping,” Dean said. He shoved all the trash in the bag and tried not to flinch as the bite on his collarbone burned again. “There’s gotta be a Bobby Singer to call.”

Sam almost grinned. “Isn’t there always?”

They took their time heading back, enjoying the sounds around them. Still, Dean was grateful to be back indoors where it was cool and safe. “See if you can find a phone,” Dean told his brother.

Three solid knocks hit the door. Well, they were more like poundings, and by the third one they were both on their feet, hands on the guns they’d found in the room. A pause, and then another three hard knocks.

Slowly Dean moved towards the door. He glanced out through the side of the window and couldn’t see anything except what looked like a man with dark hair. Resting his hand on his piece, he opened the door, enough to get off a clean shot if he needed to.

The man standing before him didn’t look dangerous. He looked worn out and thin around the edges, like any survivor Dean had seen. His face was slightly dirty, and his coat was filthy and torn. His hair went everywhere, and had he not looked like such crap, he would’ve said the guy looked handsome.

“Dean,” the man said in a deep, rough voice, and there was relief on his face. “I was worried I wouldn’t find you here-“

Then the man paused, and the relief faded to confusion. He tilted his head and regarded Dean, almost like he could see _through_ Dean. In an instant his confusion changed to anger.

“You’re not Dean,” the man said, and suddenly his eyes flashed, filled with a bright and vivid blue light. Dean reached back for his gun automatically and pulled it out. He didn’t need to look for Sam to know his brother had his own gun trained on the guy.

The guy who didn’t even flinch. In fact, he looked all the angrier. “What did you do with Dean and Sam?” he demanded.

“We _are_ Dean and Sam,” Dean snapped. “Who the hell are you?”

The man stopped and leaned in closer, tilting his head slightly. Dean felt like he was being examined, an insect pinned under the microscope, and it made his skin crawl.

Then suddenly the man stepped back, and he looked just like a bedraggled bum again. “You are,” he agreed quietly. “But you’re not the Dean and Sam of this world. You don’t belong here.”

“We figured that,” Sam drawled. Dean could just imagine his brother with the raised eyebrows and the ‘duh’ look on his face. He wasn’t taking his gaze off the guy, though, or his gun.

The man looked between Sam and Dean, then pursed his lips. “This conversation is better held indoors,” he said, and suddenly he disappeared in what sounded like…wings?

Even as Dean gaped, the sound of fluttering wings came again, and he whipped around to where the man now stood in the middle of the room. The man didn’t appear ruffled in the slightest. “Please close the door,” he said. “We have a lot to catch up on.”

“Who _are_ you?” Dean demanded. What the hell could move like that?

The man sighed, weariness all but dripping off of him. For some reason, despite Dean having absolutely no reason to, it made him want to lower his gun and make sure the guy was okay. He was clearly a supernatural being of some sort, but so far he hadn’t harmed them, and clearly had the capabilities to do so.

“I would never do you or your brother harm,” the man said. “Even if you are not the Dean and Sam that I know, you are still a version of them. And I’ll help as best as I can. Especially as I would like to have _my_ Dean and Sam back.”

Version of them? What the hell was going on?

Well, at least they might actually get answers with the weird hobo guy. Weird supernatural hobo guy. Seriously, what the hell could fly like that?

Sam edged closer but his hold on his gun wasn’t as solid anymore, either. “You didn’t answer his question,” he said, voice soft.

The man raised his head and met their gaze. “My name is Castiel,” he said, and he shrugged. “And I’m an angel of the Lord.”


	6. Acetone and Flares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You can't stop a swarm, you just run.

They found a road sign not too far down the abandoned roadway, signaling that they were at least headed in the right and easterly direction. That was enough for Dean.

It gave him something else to focus on besides the conversation he’d had with his brother. About the guilt Sam was apparently still carrying around even after throwing himself to Hell to save the world, even after being tortured by Lucifer’s hallucination to the point of insanity and death.

Okay, they’d had a rough few years. And the worst part of it all was that he’d rather focus on that then the other part of the conversation. The part about Castiel.

He didn’t know how he’d lost Castiel’s hand. He’d had him, and then suddenly he hadn’t, and there’d been nothing he could do. Cas was just…gone. Abandoned to Purgatory where no angel should ever have been.

He shut his eyes tight. He needed a damn distraction.

A moan filled the air. He snapped his eyes open and immediately whirled around at the same time everyone else did. A shuffling sound was all he needed to hear. He hadn’t been in this world long, but he already knew what trouble sounded like.

This one had legs and was making its way through the half-dozen cars abandoned on the road. They were definitely closer to the interstate with this many vehicles left over. He hefted his tire iron and watched what had probably once been a very attractive female lumber towards them, skin hanging off and bone visible beneath the blood and oozing guts.

Not a good look.

Jess and Jo had formed a small wall, keeping Oscar well hidden behind them. Andy took up the other side while Sam began making his way towards the zombie. “Hey,” Sam called softly, and he waved his arms around like a maniac. The zombie focused on him and began to speed up its steps. “Yeah, come get me,” Sam taunted.

Dean’s anxiety flew through the roof. He knew what Sam was doing but that didn’t mean he had to like it. Glaring at Sam, he brought the tire iron up and began to stalk his prey. Sam could keep ahead of the undead.

He wasn’t the only one who apparently didn’t like Sam’s idea. “Sam be careful!” Jess hissed. She had her rifle up and aimed straight at the zombie’s head, but she was clearly waiting for Dean to make the kill.

The amount of trust that took spoke of how long they’d been together, this world’s Winchesters and the rest of the crew. Enough that even though they weren’t the Sam and Dean they knew, the group was still willing to follow their lead without question. It felt like cheating, taking someone else’s place, someone who had earned their keep.

The zombie took a sudden quick three steps forward and nearly snagged Sam’s sleeve, startling his brother into stumbling backwards. Dean snarled and ran forward, tire iron raised high. With one swing he had the skull bashed in. It fell, dead for good. He glanced up at his brother, relief tempering his annoyance. “Maybe don’t taunt the zombie?” he said, eyes narrowed.

Sam began to answer, then his eyes suddenly went wide in terror. Dean immediately turned around, tire iron up, but it was too late. The zombie was on top of him before he could get it up high enough for a swing.

A gunshot rang through the air and the zombie jerked once before falling, one hole neatly made through the side of its head. He spun around and found Jess with her rifle raised. She gave a short nod, and he nodded back. Cheating as it was, he was damn glad to have a group behind them as they wandered.

He glared at Sam and reached out to slug him in the arm. Sam glared back and rubbed at his arm ruefully. “What was that for?” he hissed.

“You know damn well what,” Dean hissed back. “Don’t taunt the zombie.”

“You said that already. And you could’ve been bit and there was nothing I could’ve done. Not with just a tire iron.”

They did need more weapons and fast. Dean took a brief moment to grieve the loss of their numerous weapons bags, then shouldered it aside. “That’s what sharpshooters are for,” and he turned to Jess. “Thanks for that.”

“Yeah, well, don’t make a habit of it,” Jess said. She turned her scowl on Sam. “Seriously, I could do without the heart attack. From _both_ of you.”

Sam pursed his lips but he softened just enough to know that wherever this argument was going, Jess was going to win it, hands down. “Better me than you guys,” he said quietly, and Dean narrowed his gaze because _no_. Absolutely not.

“We need to have the suicidal conversation again?”

Jo, hurrying over, stopped and frowned at Sam. “What do you mean, suicidal conversation?”

“What do you mean, _again_?” Jess snapped. She managed to look both pissed off and worried at the same time, and Dean appreciated the backup on this.

With a sigh Sam pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m not being suicidal, I just-“

“Wanted to sacrifice yourself because you’re not worth as much as the rest of us?” Dean supplied. Sam gave him a glare but there was little heat behind it. Because Dean had him dead to rights and they both damn well knew it.

Jess stared, mouth falling open just enough to register her true shock. “Sam-“

“Do you guys hear that?”

Andy’s quiet voice was enough to catch all of their attentions. Dean listened intently, trying to figure out what Andy had heard, and-

There. A low buzzing, a murmur that was getting louder and louder. It sounded like a large group of people at a mall or busy street.

Oscar hurried over, wringing his hands. “It’s the swarm,” he said, eyes wide and fearful. “It’s the swarm, isn’t it?”

“We gotta move, _now_ ,” Jo said, and Dean began to run. Everyone stayed together, legs pounding the torn asphalt, and they raced down the road, not caring how much sound they made now. With the swarm behind them, it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was getting the hell out of dodge.

Dean felt himself fall back into the routine of Purgatory. _Run, don’t look back, teeth and claws and darkness right behind you, if you stop you’ll die._ Except this time, this time his worst nightmare had come true because Sam was running beside him, just as desperately. As angry as Dean had been about Sam living the apple pie life while he’d fought for his own skin every day, there had always been a part of him stupidly grateful for it, because it had meant Sam wasn’t in Purgatory with him. Having his little brother in Purgatory with him would’ve been the worst thing that could’ve happened to him.

That and not finding Cas. Then he’d found him and-

He put his head down and pushed his legs ahead.

The road turned a corner and then dipped down towards a valley, rising up the other side. On the other side of the hill was what looked like a bridge over the road and an entrance ramp. The interstate. They just had to get to it.

“Come on!” Sam shouted. They moved around a few cars that had blocked the road and headed for the valley. The road was sloped enough that Dean nearly lost his footing but he only let the momentum carry him quickly down the asphalt. He managed to find his balance at the bottom without hitting any of the number of vehicles gathered there and turned, ushering the others through. Sam looked to be doing the same, clearly not leaving his post until he had the others caught up. At least, not until Jess got through, but Dean knew that Sam wouldn’t leave the others either.

Oscar was lagging, the kid clearly spent, and Dean hurried back to catch his arm. “You gotta keep moving,” Dean told him. “C’mon kiddo, you can do this.”

“I don’t want to,” Oscar admitted breathlessly, but he seemed to be gathering himself in order to keep going, then forced his legs to move. He’d make it.

Jo and Andy were already scaling the hill on the other side. Jess stood near Sam, both of them waiting for Oscar, and Sam’s eyes immediately sought out Dean. “Dean-“

“I’m here, I’m here.” He caught Sam’s arm and pulled his little brother with him. “Let’s go, stay with me!”

The hill was brutal. He’d never appreciated his car more in that moment than ever before. A hill like this would’ve been reason to gun the engine and kick it into overdrive. This was hell on the legs, especially his knees. Even in as good a shape as he was in, he couldn’t help but lag a bit coming up towards the top of the hill. Sam was ahead of him but not by much, and his brother looked to be feeling much the same way. If they’d paced themselves, they could’ve managed it far better.

Running for your life sort of meant you couldn’t pace yourself. God knew Dean had done it often enough in Purgatory. Castiel was probably still doing it now. Unless he’d been caught.

If he let himself think about it, he could still feel Castiel’s hand in his, holding on as tightly as he could. No matter how hard he’d held on, though, he’d still lost Cas. He’d still lost his…his friend.

If he didn’t want to think about Cas, though, which he didn’t, then his mind helpfully supplied the fact that his little brother still thought he was less than everyone else and would give his life without a thought. Dean wasn’t going to let it happen, and dammit, the kid would learn just how much Dean was willing to do in order to keep him alive and by his side.

They finally made it to the top of the hill and Dean couldn’t help but brace his arms on his knees, trying to pull in air. He glanced up and stared behind them. For a moment, he couldn’t see anything, and he wondered if they’d just scared themselves.

Then he saw the first zombie. The first two. They were followed almost immediately by another four zombies, and then the rest followed around the corner.

There had to be at least fifty or more zombies. More than he could take out with a tire iron, and there wasn’t enough ammunition to deal with them all. If they could separate them, break them up, that would be one thing. No, they needed to figure out how to deal with them all at once.

“How do you kill a swarm?” he asked breathlessly. He forced his breathing to slow down, tried to get it back under control, before he hyperventilated or threw up. Both were an option at this point and they didn’t have time for either.

He realized that he hadn’t gotten an answer and turned towards the others. Jess, Jo, and Andy were all staring at him like he had three heads. Oscar looked like he was going to pass out. “Well?” Sam asked. Apparently Dean hadn’t been alone in his thoughts.

Jess slowly shook her head. “You don’t…you don’t kill a swarm. You get the hell out of its way.”

“There’s too many to handle all at once,” Jo said. “Separate them, sure, you can pick them off, but not all like that. They’ll knock down fences, destroy cars, force their way in anywhere.”

Dean glanced back at the swarm. Moving faster, they let out numerous groans that sounded hungry and desperate. It made his skin crawl.

An idea came to mind, crazy and wild, but it was all he had. “What else kills a zombie?” he asked. “Besides a shot to the head?”

“No other body part will bring them down,” Andy said. “I mean, you saw the one without legs, right? They don’t bleed out or anything.”

“I was thinking fire.”

Jo put two and two together faster than the others and her eyes went wide. “Fire does work,” she breathed. “Fire works once it gets into the skull, which doesn’t take long. At the very least, they can’t walk if they don’t have legs.”

That was all Dean needed. “Sammy,” he called but Sam was already racing to the nearest car and smashing the window open. He rooted around and found leftover clothes that someone had abandoned.

Dean took off for the next car and tore through it in a flash. No matches, no gas tanks, nothing to help cause a fire. “I need accelerant,” Dean yelled. “And fire!”

The swarm got louder. They were stumbling down the hill now, some of them tumbling and hitting the cars at the bottom. This was a now or never moment, and Dean frantically searched another car. In the trunk was an emergency kit, and unused, dusty as hell, but still wrapped up, was a roadside flare.

“Got it!” Jo shouted. “Dean, _hurry_!”

Dean raced back to the car that Sam had smashed in. Jess sloshed something across the front seats, then tossed in a bottle of something that Dean frowned at until the smell hit him. “Is that nail polish remover?” Oscar asked, apparently having gotten his breath back.

“Under one of the seats,” Jess confirmed. “Acetone burns, right?”

“Acetone burns.” And burned fast. Dean got himself braced on the side of the car and started pushing it forward, Sam on the other side. “We gotta get this to roll down the hill, c’mon.”

Together the six of them managed to get the car near the top of the hill. “Don’t stop,” Dean said, hauling the flare out of his pocket. The swarm had hit the bottom of the valley and were shoving cars aside with their combined strength. It was terrifying, actually, and Dean set the flare off just as the car began to crest the top. He threw it through the window and watched the car tip over the edge and roll down the hill.

For a second, nothing seemed to happen except the car picking up speed. Then the inside of the car suddenly flashed bright as the acetone went off. The car went faster and faster towards the swarm and Dean stared, wondering if they should be running, wondering if they were just ruining their best chance to get away. How much safer would they be on the interstate if the swarm kept following?

The car flew towards a group of three cars all stacked together, going faster than Dean would’ve thought, and he suddenly realized just how much accelerant was accelerating towards the swarm. “Duck!” he shouted, automatically reaching to grab Sam and haul him down.

He almost wasn’t in time. The car hit the other cars and exploded, taking the other cars with it. The entire road shook and sent them to their knees, and he could feel the heat even from the top of the hill. The smell of burning oil and gasoline filled the air. Another smell joined it, and Dean realized after a moment that he knew that smell. It was the smell of burning flesh. Burning, rotten flesh.

“Oh god,” Sam choked, gagging. Jo and Jess coughed and retched, and Andy had his hand over his face, eyes streaming. Dean managed to not take a breath in and raised burning eyes to see over the crest of the hill.

Five cars were in flames, with the fires reaching up towards the trees on each side of the road. Some of the swarm had gotten past the flames but they were small in numbers, maybe six total. The rest were behind the wall of fire and they were burning merrily. Still moving forward, but even as he watched, eyes tearing up from the heat and smells, several began to fall to the ground.

They’d done it. They’d stopped the swarm.

One of the trees caught fire, and Dean realized there was a whole other problem about to happen. “Move, we gotta move,” he choked out. Together the group stumbled to their feet and took off on shaky legs.

The air cleared as they got farther from the explosion, and up ahead was the entrance to the interstate. “Home free,” Andy said with a grin. “Holy shit we stopped a _swarm_.”

“And probably started a forest fire,” Jess said, but her eyes were bright and full of energy. She turned and gave a grin at Sam and he returned it, almost helpless not to.

“Yeah, well, that’s why we’re leaving,” Dean said. He knew it was the adrenaline talking but he felt energized, like he could run a marathon and keep going if he had to. The crash was going to be bad. Later. He’d crash later. “Let’s hit the interstate.”

A groan came from ahead of them. Everyone froze. It was a deep, guttural groan, one that got louder and louder at a fast clip.

“What are the odds…?” Sam began to ask, but Dean shook his head.

“Winchester luck, Sam.” Of course there would be another swarm ahead of them.

Oscar looked exhausted. “What do we do?” he asked. “Where do we go?”

“The interstate,” Jo said, but she didn’t sound confident. “There’s, there’s hotels we can hide in-“

The groaning was loud enough now to rumble through the air, and he could feel it in his bones. Sam handed him his tire iron that he must’ve dropped somewhere, and he took it grimly. At least they’d go down swinging.

Something flashed ahead on the other side of the bridge. He glanced behind them and saw several zombies slowly making their way up the hill. Trapped between zombies, nowhere to go except the forest to the sides, and god knew what was in there.

The next thing he knew, the swarm from ahead was barreling towards them. Except it wasn’t a swarm, and the truck slid to a hard stop in front of them. Even as Dean stared, a familiar face leaned out of the driver’s window. “Get in!” Ruby shouted.

Dean did just that, loading everyone into the cab and then jumping into the back bed with Sam. “I have never been happier to see you,” Dean gasped through the back window. Ruby let out a cackle and threw the truck into reverse. The zombies stood no chance against a V8 that she let rip, turning to the interstate and rolling up and out of there.

“Thanks for the sign telling me where to find you,” Ruby said over the rushing winds. “Nice to know I can always count on you two to be pyromaniacs, no matter what world you two are from.”

Dean glanced at Sam and found his brother giving him a relieved smile. Safe. They were actually safe. “Fire’s just fun,” he said.

“How far until the hotel?” Jess asked.

Ruby glanced in the rearview mirror. “Ask them. You two remember where you were?”

Now that they were on the road and moving in a vehicle, yeah, Dean knew exactly where they’d stopped. “You got enough gas to keep us going for an hour or two?”

“Should. If not, we can stop and siphon. I hope you guys have plenty of ammo, though. We’re going to draw attention like nobody’s business.”

Dean shook his head. “We just killed a swarm. We’ll handle it. Keep driving.”

Ruby’s eyes went wide with awe. “Okay, I need the story on that, now.”

The others instantly jumped in with details, letting Dean sit back and thunk his head against the back of the truck cab. “Holy shit,” Sam breathed beside him.

“You hurt?” Dean asked. Sam shook his head. “Okay. Then yeah. Holy _shit_.”

At least they had a vehicle. They’d get to the hotel, get back to their world. Figure out…whatever they needed to do. Starting with ensuring his little brother knew how much he was needed. Wanted.

Laughter from the cab made him glance back. Jo was all smiles, and so was Jess. Andy was talking a mile a minute, and Oscar even looked relaxed. Ruby had one eyebrow up like she didn’t believe what they were saying, but clearly was impressed in spite of herself.

Something twinged inside of his chest. They were going to have to leave them all behind. Just like he’d left Cas. Leave them to save himself and Sam.

He turned back to watch the world speed past them, breeze sending his hair everywhere, and let his body settle from the adrenaline rush.


	7. The Motel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The motel and the mirror await them, and the clock starts ticking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting towards the end now - the 10th chapter will technically be the epilogue so we're almost at the end of this weird little fic. I hope it's been enjoyable at least! A longer chapter for y'all.

“Do you believe him?” Sam hissed. The man – Castiel – wandered the room and seemed to be deep in thought, his trench coat around him.

An angel who wore a trench coat. God had an incredible sense of humor. “I don’t think he’s going to hurt us,” Dean said slowly. It was surprising, actually, to hear Dean so undecided. Then again, they’d been duped before. Automatically trusting this Castiel person might not end well.

Yet there was something undeniable about the man – _angel_. Something that made Sam want to believe him. Maybe the bite had done damage to his brain already.

As if thinking about it brought it to the forefront, Sam’s wrist began to throb. He winced and pressed down hard against the bite. Not that it was going to help, but he had to try.

In an instant Castiel was there and in his face. “What?” Sam snapped.

“You’re injured,” he said. He raised up a single hand, palm nearly in Sam’s face. “May I?” he asked. “I can try to help heal it.”

Heal? The angel could heal? Sam nodded slowly after glancing at Dean for confirmation. Dean just shrugged, all casual, but his hand tightened around the gun. One wrong move and angel or not, there wouldn’t be much left of Castiel.

Castiel approached carefully and took Sam’s wrist in hand, wincing as he looked at it. “It looks painful,” he said with clear sympathy. “How did it happen?”

“Does it matter?”

The angel said nothing, merely put his hand over the bite. Dean shifted closer, getting a clear shot if necessary. Sam stood firm and waited with breath held.

A light began to glow from beneath Castiel’s hands, warm and gentle, and it didn’t feel like anything Sam had ever felt before. He watched with wide eyes as the light hummed against his skin.

Then it stopped. Sam frowned at his wounded wrist, the one that didn’t look any different. “What gives?” Dean demanded. “Finish it!”

Castiel frowned and focused again. The light returned, but like before, nothing happened. “What bit you?” Castiel asked again. “Because even if this were supernaturally based, I should have been able to cleanse and heal it.”

Well, he’d let the angel hold his hand, might as well give him the rest of the story. “Zombies,” he said. “They’ve overrun everything. We…weren’t lucky.”

The pain of the bite, bone against bone, had been horrific and he vaguely remembered screaming. Remembered being hauled away, remembered the building, barely climbing up several flights of stairs. His forehead hot, blood in his vision-

And then nothing.

Castiel looked even more concerned now than before. “Let me see your wound,” he demanded of Dean, and Dean didn’t even hesitate, instead pulled down his shirt to reveal the wounded neck. The angel flinched but reached out and rested his hand on the wound. Dean shifted uncomfortably but didn’t say anything as Castiel’s hand glowed bright and sure again. When the angel pulled away a moment later, the wound was still there, bloody and glaring.

Castiel took a step back and looked to be deep in thought. If anything, Sam would’ve said he looked discomfited by the notion that he couldn’t heal them. “I should be able to heal you. I don’t understand why I can’t. Either this virus is something of Hell’s nature, which would require far more of my Grace to heal, or-“

The fear that filled Sam wasn’t for him and all of it for Dean. “Why can’t you heal him?” he asked. “If you can only do one of us-“

“Heal Sam,” Dean said immediately. Sam glared at his brother but Dean met his gaze solidly. “If you can only do one of us, heal him.”

With a sigh the angel shook his head. “You are absolutely Dean and Sam, there’s no doubt there. But you’re not the two Winchesters that belong in this world.”

Sam frowned. “So, what, we swapped somehow?”

“Somehow,” Castiel agreed. He didn’t look thrilled about the idea. “Which means wherever you came from…“

Two unsuspecting brothers had been dropped into a Hell that no one deserved. “Aw shit,” Dean muttered.

“Is it so bad, in your world?” Castiel asked. He looked almost frightened of the answer. It made the curious part of Sam wake up for the first time in a long time. How had this other Sam and Dean managed to befriend an angel?

Dean made a face. “Whole world ended. Zombies everywhere, taking down what little survivors remain. Nowhere’s safe. We were hoping to get our contingent north where the zombies at least move slower in the cold and where there aren’t as many people to come in contact with anyway.”

Castiel actually went pale. “Are you okay?” Sam couldn’t help but find himself asking.

“I…worry for Dean. Both of them,” he added almost in the same breath, but Sam had heard the hesitation. “You’re both my, my friends. And I’ve been parted from you both for too long. We need to switch you both back into your world.”

“Is that why you can’t heal us?” Sam asked. “Because we’re not a part of this world?”

The angel immediately nodded. “That was my other thought, yes. If I can get you both back to your world, I might be able to heal you there.” He didn’t look very sure of himself, though.

It was better than any other option they had. “How did you get here?” Castiel asked after a moment. He took a seat at the edge of the bed, filthy trench coat and all. “Tell me what you know.”

They passed numerous zombies on the way down the road, but none of them were anywhere close to fast enough to catch them. There was no point wasting ammo, either. Still, Jess didn’t quite breathe until they’d left the zombie in the dust behind them.

At least she felt better than she had after watching Sam taunt one of the zombies earlier. He hadn’t blinked or hesitated, just started walking the zombie away from them. Usually Oscar was the bait, or Andy, leaving both Sam and Dean to stalk the zombie as prey. It only highlighted just how different things were for the umpteenth time. These versions of Sam and Dean clearly had no one to rely on except each other.

Still, Jess could do without watching Sam put himself in danger. This version of Sam had awakened all sorts of nasty feelings inside of her that refused to be shoved back into the box of Do Not Think About. Like his selfless, giving nature that she’d all but forgotten about. The way he’d glanced at her and assess whether she was all right or not. The small, guilty smile whenever she caught him doing it.

They were driving to a mirror to send them home, she reminded herself. Get their Sam and Dean back, then put these two in their own world again. She’d go back to the Sam she knew now: hardened, battle-tested, cold with anyone except Dean. One who might already have infected the other world.

No. She had to believe they’d be okay. They’d…they’d figure something out.

A hand tapped her shoulder through the window. Sam knelt in the bed of the truck and leaned down so she could hear him over the roar of the wind. “Tell her this next exit,” he called. “This is where we were staying before everything happened.”

She nodded her understanding and watched as he smiled, that small, tiny, sweet smile that he only gave her. Her heart skipped a beat and she really hated it right then and there.

Ruby dutifully pulled off at the next exit, and Jess continued to relay directions until they were pulling into a dusty parking lot in front of a cheap motel. The truck slid to a slow stop, and only when they had sat for a minute did Ruby finally kill the engine. The _tick tick tick_ of the engine cooling down matched the sound of her beating heart as she scanned the area. Nothing moved. No breeze rustled through the grass and weeds that had cracked through the pavement and overrun the parking lot. No doors opened to break the cobwebs and disturb the dust. No curtains moved in the dirty windows.

She looked back out to the main road. The interstate beyond them was empty, and the road devoid of anything except unused cars and blood stains. This was why she hated going near what used to be civilization. There was always evidence of death and decay.

Fingers gently brushed against her shoulder once more, a small reminder of _you’re not alone,_ and before she’d gotten herself turned around, Sam had already jumped out of the side of the truck with Dean. He gave no indication of how he’d offered comfort, but Jess’s skin burned at his touch all the same, even as her cheeks flushed with pleasure at the kindness, the _caring_ , he kept giving her.

Silently the two brothers moved down the motel, peering in windows, tire irons at the ready. Ruby waited, hand on the key in the ignition, ready to take off if trouble reared its head. Finally they came back, but at an even walk, and Jess let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “All the other rooms are empty,” Dean said. “Initial signs look good.”

It was almost too easy to see this Sam and Dean as the two Winchesters she’d always known. A little softer but still competent hunters and leaders.

Jo cleared her throat. “Which room?” she asked.

Dean jerked his head behind them to the one on the end. The _22_ didn’t really gleam in the sunlight, but the numbers were still there, albeit a bit rusty. Sam moved towards the door and Jess suddenly shoved her way out of the truck, hurrying to catch up. He seemed startled at her appearance but she didn’t miss the way his eyes lit up at the sight of her. It left something warm in her chest, that feeling of being wanted.

Oh she was absolutely going to miss this Sam. The Sam that the Sam of her world could’ve been. She felt horrible even thinking about it like that, because this Sam had been dealt losses that had left him the man that he was now. But he was still kind, still empathetic, still caring after it all.

She pulled herself from her thoughts as Sam tried the doorknob. It wouldn’t give, and she watched Sam cringe at the knowledge. Knock it down, or try to find a key that may or may not work with how rusted the door was?

Rifle held tight, she gave him a nod. Sam nodded back, then glanced past her, to where Dean no doubt was standing. “Just do it, Sammy,” she heard Dean say firmly.

Inwardly she was already trying to settle her adrenaline. This was going to be loud. If there were zombies in the area, they’d show up pretty quick.

Sam took a breath, then stepped back, braced himself, and raised his leg. His boot landed solidly on the door and sent it flying inwards with a bang that echoed in the silence. Jess immediately stepped inside, rifle raised.

The room was empty. Another door, a bathroom door, lay at the back of the room, and it was partially ajar. Not enough to see if someone was in there.

She gave the all clear and Sam moved in beside her, tire iron at the ready. They scouted everything just in case, then moved to the bathroom. It should’ve felt awkward, fighting alongside him, scouting things out, but they moved as well as they ever did. In fact, they moved together better than the Sam of this world and she ever had. It was forced there, too much bitterness and history between them.

Sam didn’t lead her, didn’t try to overprotect her, but clearly stayed by her side to keep her defended. He trusted her. That’s what it ultimately came down to. He _trusted her_. Her eyes burned a little at the realization.

With a steady hand Sam edged the door to the bathroom open, tire iron raised in the other hand. Jess ducked beneath him, rifle ready. The door creaked something awful as it slid in to reveal the bathroom.

Filthy tiles, black grout, dust and cobwebs everything, and the definite smell of mold. But no zombies, and not even any dark stains. No one had died in here, then, and her shoulders came down a solid two inches.

“Clear,” Sam called quietly behind them. A door shut and she turned to find everyone already inside. Ruby grabbed a chair and tossed it to Dean who immediately slid it underneath the doorknob. Jo and Andy moved to the windows, checking them for breaks, and found them surprisingly intact. Oscar made a face at the bedspreads, as dusty as they were, and then grabbed one of them and shook it out. Dust filled the air, and Jess barely managed to not sneeze.

Between all of them, the door and windows were secured and the space nearly livable. It would be nice to be out of the elements for the evening, though the heat was going to get a little much. At least it was heading towards evening now, and already it was cooler than it had been when they’d walked.

Ruby carefully moved to the middle of the room and faced the dresser. Above it was a large mirror, and despite being filthy, it wasn’t cracked or broken. She carefully ran her fingers over it, checking it out everywhere, but finally the demon stepped back, satisfied. “I can use it,” she said. “As long as the mirror hasn’t been broken for some reason in your world, I can totally use this.”

“Do you have what you need?” Andy asked, but he almost sounded reluctant. Jess knew the feeling.

Before Ruby could say anything, Oscar raised his hand. “Sorry if I’m asking the stupid question,” he said, face grim, “but what do we do with our Sam and Dean when they get back over here?”

For a moment, no one could seem to say anything. Dean glanced at his brother and they shared one of those silent conversations that Jess could never figure out. Wasn’t the time, not now. Because Oscar wasn’t wrong. They needed to do something about their own Winchesters, whenever they came through. If they weren’t already zombies.

“Can you heal them?” Jo asked quietly. “Ruby?”

“I tried, Oakley,” Ruby said. She looked as miserable as Jess had ever seen her, and she could’ve sworn there were tears in the demon’s eyes. “I tried for almost three straight days. I tried _everything._ There is no cure.”

She swallowed hard and when she met their gazes again, her eyes were hard. “We’ll do what needs to be done,” she said. “And hopefully before they turn. They don’t…they don’t deserve that.”

Her eyes swung to the right of Jo and she jerked when she caught sight of Dean, as if she’d forgotten that he was there. “I…” And then she stopped, unable to go much farther.

Dean gazed at her for a moment, then slowly shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said surprisingly, and Jess sort of straightened in her own surprise. She didn’t think she’d ever heard either of the Winchesters apologize before. Offer short condolences, sure, but everyone did that. It’s what you did when you realized someone had lost everything.

This was more than just that, though. This was Dean honest to god sorry that they wouldn’t have the Winchesters there, that they’d have to kill this world’s version of himself to keep themselves safe. That they were going to be down their two leaders and that much more vulnerable.

It wasn’t something that Jess had really let herself think about, honestly. She just hadn’t wanted to. As much as her and Sam had been split over, well, everything, watching him die-

Her stomach lurched so violently that she thought she’d have to use the useless toilet in the bathroom. Oh god. They were going to have to kill their Sam and Dean.

Andy sat down abruptly on one of the remaining chairs and nearly missed it. Jo had gone white in the face, and Oscar had his arms wrapped around himself miserably. Ruby opened her mouth to speak again, then didn’t. The air in the room felt like death.

After a moment, Sam cleared his throat. “What do you need from us, Ruby?” he asked. “Blood, herbs?”

“I, uh. No herbs.” She rolled her shoulders back and tried to look firm in the face of what they’d have to do. “Just your blood and my magic. I’m going to do a test run now, which should basically render the mirror looking like static television. After that, if it works, then I’ll have to wait for the birth of dawn of a full moon.”

Jess tried to remember how the moon had looked last night. Nearly full, she’d thought. “When is the full moon?” she asked.

“Tonight,” Ruby told her. “That’s why I agreed to find a vehicle. So we’ve got one shot at this until next month. And at that point…”

It would be too late. They would send Sam and Dean back to a world as dead as this one.

Oscar peered out the window and went to his bag, pulling out a variety of items and setting them on the table. “There’s a grocery store across the way, and it doesn’t look super raided yet. There might still be stuff good in there.”

“I’ll go with you,” Dean said. Jess began to argue, that they were going to have to get used to living without the Winchesters, but he waved her off. “Look, we’re still here for a little bit. Let us help while we can. Besides, eating before donating blood helps.”

“I’ll go, too,” Jo told him. Dean nodded shortly, eyes lingering on her with a vague sorrow that he quickly hid, but it reminded Jess that they were alone in their own world. That they’d lost everyone.

As if the same thought had occurred to Sam, Jess felt fingers brush tentatively against her hand. She didn’t hesitate, instead reached out and grabbed hold of his hand as tightly as she could. Sam grabbed back, no longer hesitant.

If she only had a handful of hours left with him, then she was going to damn well take them.

“Be back before night really falls,” Ruby urged them, and with one final nod Dean carefully opened the door. A quick search outside and then the three of them were gone. Andy moved after them and shoved the chair back in place.

Jess finally found her voice. “Speaking of falling light, we should get candles in place.” It would mean letting go of Sam’s hand, though.

Without warning Ruby was suddenly there, yanking Jess’s bag off of her shoulder and over the rifle. “I’ve got it,” she said. “Go be lovey-dovey elsewhere.”

Her cheeks went hot but she only glared at the demon. One glance at Sam showed he was equally as red in the face. He caught her hand as if in defiance, however, and tugged her towards the back of the room, where a tiny kitchenette was situated. They slid down to the floor together, backs to the wall, and it should’ve felt awkward but in the glow of the candles that Ruby and Andy lit, Sam’s hand warm and large around her own, she almost felt comfortable. She felt…happy.

It only made what was going to happen in roughly twelve hours worse. She’d have to say goodbye. Even though she didn’t technically know this Sam, he was the closest to the Sam that she’d had so many years ago. It felt like she’d gotten him back after all this time. The man she’d loved.

And would lose again.

He turned towards her, and his eyes seemed to glow in the light from the candles. “I…I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “You’re going to lose the Sam here.”

“I lost him a long time ago,” she said, equally as soft. “I’m going to be sorrier that you’re gone.” It felt almost like a betrayal to say it out loud, but it was true. She loved him, this Sam, the Sam that this world’s Sam had been. Watching him go would be one of the worst things she could imagine.

His lips pursed as if trying to keep his emotions in check. “Maybe you can all come with us,” he said, surprising her. “Maybe we can get all of you out of here. You could come back with us. With me.”

She didn’t think it was possible and from the look on his face, he didn’t think so either, but oh, the hope that burst through her. To not have to say goodbye. “We could go on a real date,” she said, and she gave a watery laugh. “Somewhere that’s not the cleaners.”

Sam blushed but he grinned back. “Okay, that wasn’t supposed to be a date. It’s not my fault he spilled wine all over me. You didn’t have to come with me.”

“Yes I did,” she said. “I got to see you shirtless. A few more drops and I could’ve seen you pantsless.”

“You _have_ seen me without pants.”

In a multitude of ways. Ways she’d missed.

Murmurs caught her attention and she wasn’t at Stanford, teasing her boyfriend, but in a dark and dirty motel room, Ruby and Andy speaking low by candlelight, the others on a supply run. She missed the life before the infection.

His hand tightened around hers. “You have no idea how much I’m going to miss you,” he said, and he could barely get the last words out as he choked up. “How much-“

She squeezed his hand back, and neither of them said anything else. After a moment, she curled into him and he let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her instead. She rested her head against his shoulder that he always obligingly lowered for her, no matter how much it had to cramp his arm to do so, and tears stung her eyes.

Her ass hurt from the floor and his hand was bound to get sweaty, especially in the warmth of the room, and she was hungry and tired and already grieving what she was going to lose. But at that moment, she wouldn’t have rather been anywhere else.

They were on their way back when Jo asked the question. “You think there’s a cure in your world? For the zombie virus?”

It was an idea that Dean had had himself. Angels could heal anything with their Grace. But the likelihood of an angel actually deigning to help any sort of Winchester, from one world or any world, was pretty slim to none. One angel would have-

Not thinking about Cas.

Instead, he hauled the packaged bottles of water higher on his shoulder and twisted the paper bag handles until they weren’t pinching his fingers. “Maybe,” he said. “Not sure how the mirror works but we might have a chance to talk with your version of us.”

“If they haven’t turned already,” Oscar said quietly. The kid looked miserable, and if Dean hadn’t known better, he’d have said it was because of the bulging backpack and the two heavy paper bags he carried beside him. They’d hit the jackpot and he honestly couldn’t wait to show the others. That would keep all of them for a while.

Well. Keep just them. Dean was going back, along with his brother. With the truck, the others could carry all of this with them for quite some time. Until they lost the truck.

He couldn’t help but glance at Jo again. Seeing her breathing, his beautiful little sister and friend, was at such insane odds with how he’d seen her last before the store had blown up, taking her and Ellen with it. Bloody and barely breathing but still determined to the end. She hadn’t deserved to die that way. This Jo didn’t deserve that death, either, but she would probably see it here in this godforsaken world.

Oscar, too. Oscar reminded him of Kevin. A young kid who didn’t know what the hell was up or down anymore but fighting to stay alive and help others do the same. Castiel had said-

He shut his eyes tight. “Goddammit, Cas,” he muttered under his breath. If he could just kick Cas and his big blue eyes and everything else out of his head-

“Who’s Cas?”

Dean blinked. “He’s the angel,” Jo told Oscar. “The angel friend.”

“I can’t believe you’re friends with an angel,” Oscar said, shaking his head.

“I can’t believe there’s such a thing as angels to begin with,” Jo said.

Something like a twig cracked ahead of them, gunshot loud in the stillness of the night, and they all froze. A moment later a raccoon bounded out from behind the motel and hurried across the parking lot. Dean took a deep breath and tried to settle his heart which was now beating like hell in his chest. Frigging rodent.

“Move,” Dean told them, and they moved faster towards the motel room. Oscar got there first and gave the door a gentle rap of his knuckles to the rhythm of shave-and-a-haircut.

“You miss him.”

He glanced at Jo, who was watching him knowingly. “This Cas,” she said quietly. “He means something to you.”

“Meant,” Dean told her. “He’s gone now.”

Jo frowned. “How do you kill an angel?”

Angel blade, holy fire, leaving him alone to face who knew what in Purgatory. Fingers digging in tight but Cas’s hand still slipping out of his, Cas’s face full of fear-

The door opened to Andy’s relieved face. Dean immediately glanced past him and found only Ruby. Oh look, his heart could still respond to the sudden adrenaline of his brother missing. “Where’s-?”

She jerked her head towards the back of the room, and the sight was almost more than Dean could stand. Sam and Jess sat huddled together on the floor, foreheads nearly brushing against each other, talking in soft tones. She said something and suddenly Sam’s face lit up, a smile Dean hadn’t seen in too long gracing his little brother’s face.

As much as he’d miss Jo, heck, even sort of miss this version of Ruby, he was never going to miss them as much as Sam would miss Jess. It felt wrong to deliver a blow like this to his brother whenever they were trying to come together again as brothers in a world of loss. But they couldn’t leave the other versions of themselves in, well, he would’ve said the real world, but this world was real, too. Whatever. They had to do the swap and protect their world from becoming like this one.

Then they could go home and both be miserable. Sam losing Jess – _again_ – and Jo, and Dean losing Jo and Cas.

Okay, he could admit it. He missed Cas. He missed Castiel, and the thought that it was his fault that his friend was still trapped in Purgatory, that if he’d just held on tighter, he could’ve gotten Cas out-

It was enough to make his insides churn. And his heart break just a little damn more.

Andy had the door shut behind them again and was looking over their numerous bags with wide eyes. “So we hit the jackpot,” Dean said, and he set the water down on the table. The bag that pinched his fingers was finally removed by Ruby, and she dumped out the contents. Ramen noodle packs, pasta, some dried beans, peanut butter, olive oil that still looked okay, dried fruit bags, and even-

“Twinkies,” Ruby all but moaned, and she quickly opened a box and pulled one out. She looked almost giddy, but she glanced at Dean first, and Dean frowned. What was she waiting for?

Permission. She was seriously asking if it was okay. He melted a little more towards her. “I grabbed them for you,” he told her. “They’re not French fries, but they’re still fried goodness.”

“You’re amazing,” she said, and she ripped open the package and shoved it all into her mouth at once. The moan she let out was almost enough to make anyone blush. Andy certainly did, and Jo went an incredible level of red that Dean had never seen on her before.

Oh. _Oh_. Well that explained a little bit.

He grabbed two of the Twinkies and headed to the back of the room, where Jess and Sam were still talking. Sam made to stand up but Dean shook him off. “Not the most romantic dinner, but it’s disgustingly sweet like you two,” he said with a grin. Sam’s cheeks went slightly red but Jess grinned back, and Sam had been right: Dean knew he’d like Jess if they would’ve gotten a chance to know each other better.

Weren’t going to get it now, but whatever.

Jo had a gas stove, a little camping portable thing, and they made pasta with olive oil and some of the spices that hadn’t been opened at the store. They dined like royalty and Dean let his eyes drift over their small group as they ate and even laughed. It felt like a family, the same warmth that Dean hadn’t had since-

Since before Jo and Ellen had died. That last night, with Bobby and Ellen and Jo and Sam…and Castiel. Facing down horrific odds, but all of them together again. Smiling, laughing, Jo teasing him, Ellen trying to drink Cas under the table, Sam not being so damn miserable all the time.

Now here they were, Oscar trying to slurp noodles and winding up with them on the side of his face, Andy just eating it in huge gobs, Ruby stealing noodles from Jo’s plate when she thought Jo wasn’t looking, Jo clearly letting her and swatting at her when she ‘caught’ her at it, Jess and Sam looking like they were going to do something gross like Lady and the Tramp. Ruby caught Dean’s eye after watching them and she mimed gagging, and his lips turned up.

After dinner was cleaned up and the food packed up, not a crumb left behind, Ruby pulled them both aside and took the necessary blood into an old stone bowl. “Sorry,” she murmured when he flinched a little, but she was clearly taking pains to be gentle.

It was enough to make him speak up. “It’s okay,” he said, and she glanced up at him at the calm in his tone. “It is,” he said again. “Really. Thanks.”

She blinked, clearly not certain what to do with it, but then she shook herself. “Uh, yeah. Sure, Shortbus.”

He just raised an eyebrow at her, and she smirked at him. Then she turned to the mirror, and all levity faded. In the mirror, she looked pale and almost frightened, and he knew it wasn’t for the spell. No, it was for what they might find on the other side. What would have to come after.

She began to speak in a deep, low voice, Latin and something else intermingling. The hairs on the back of his arms and neck stood on end, and the entire room felt like lightning, ready to spark at any moment.

She quickly flicked their combined blood at the mirror, and he watched, mouth parting in shock, as the blood disappeared into the mirror that waved like water. Jo inhaled sharply but said nothing, and Sam moved closer to him, tense and ready for anything.

Whatever happened, they’d face it together. Dean brushed against his brother’s shoulder, _I’ve got you,_ and Sam pressed back. No more separating. No more losing each other, no more anger or hurt or other stupid things that had kept them away from each other.

The mirror went milky white and crackled, once, twice, and then went black. Dean tensed, waiting.

Then he could see himself in the mirror, but it wasn’t him. The scars weren’t in the right place, the hair was slightly longer and jaggedly cut on one side. No, this was the other him, on the other side, in the world that was theirs.

They’d done it.


	8. Connections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two sets of Winchesters finally meet, albeit briefly. One last night is shared before they can switch back.

One minute, the mirror had crackled like a bad TV set, and then the next, Sam could see himself in it again.

Except it wasn’t him. The room was darker, and the vision wasn’t quite clear, and this other him was dressed differently, looked dirtier. Dean stood beside himself but it wasn’t the brother that was right beside him. It was a different Dean, too.

And right in front of them, long blonde hair hanging limply around her face, was Ruby.

“Ruby,” he said, relieved, and if he was relieved, she looked ready to faint at how happy she was. “How-?”

“Don’t have time to ask questions,” she said. The mirror distorted then cleared again. “This is just a test run. Listen, you’re not in the world you need to be in. You and Dean swapped. It’s my fault.”

“Hey, everyone’s okay,” Dean said firmly. Always ready to let go and move on. That had been hard-won knowledge for them both, but life was too short to not do it. “We’re okay over here.”

Ruby paused. “Really?” the other Sam asked, and his eyes were narrow and knowing. So they knew. “You’re healed up?”

Sam shifted restlessly, something he hadn’t done in a long time. “No,” the other Dean said, and he looked upset. “No, they’re not. They just haven’t turned yet.”

“Everyone there?” Sam asked instead, refusing to let the brief conversation rest solely on them and their bites. He could make out Jo beyond Dean, and Oscar’s face looked visible, and-

Jess. Standing side by side with the other Sam, leaning into him. It was enough to shock him into silence.

“We lost Ryan and Caleb and Herb,” Andy said from somewhere else in the room. Dean shut his eyes tight then opened them again. They’d gotten too used to mourning. Ryan and Herb had been additions while they’d traveled but Caleb had been a friend before everything had gone to crap. Caleb had been like a big brother to Dean, Sam knew that much. He’d been a friend of…of Dad’s. To hear that he was gone-

It was interesting to watch as the Dean on the other side of the mirror looked just as pained as his own brother did. He’d had a Caleb, too. That sort of just made it worse. That Sam and Dean had had everything here in this world, and then they’d got thrown into the heap of garbage that was, well, _their_ world. Who would want zombies and death everywhere?

“So how did you contact us?” Sam asked. “In fact, how did you _find_ us?”

“We’re in the same hotel, same mirror,” Ruby said. “Full moon, whatever. Listen, this is just a test. The real thing will be in about eight hours or so, right before dawn. So set your alarms, stay up all night, I don’t care. But we have to swap you guys back.”

She didn’t have to say anything else. Sam understood. So did Dean. They couldn’t stay. Not with…with the bites. They’d turn and then they’d be the reason this world was damned.

“Can you cure it?” Dean asked. “The bites. You said you’d had an idea how, and then-“

“I don’t,” Ruby said, and it sounded like the words were ripped right out of her. “I tried. That’s how you wound up in that world. I’m so sorry. Guys I’m…I’m _so sorry_.”

“Don’t be,” Sam said, and he blinked because that had been his voice, but like an echo. He realized a moment later that the other Sam had spoken, too. That wasn’t going to not ever be weird.

Jo came up to the mirror and frowned. “You don’t even sound surprised,” she said. “About any of this. Why not?”

Dean shrugged. “It’s what he told us.”

The Dean on the other side instantly looked wary. “’He’?” he asked. “Who is ‘he’?”

In response, Sam and Dean both stepped away and let the angel through. He’d washed his face, of a sort, but the coat was still a lost cause. His hair still stood up in at least six different directions, and the rest of him looked just as tired as his clothing.

Yet when he became visible, both the Sam and Dean in the other world stared like he was made of gold. “Cas?” the other Dean whispered, almost reverently. He moved up to the mirror and almost in front of Ruby, never taking notice of anything except the angel. “You’re, you’re…”

Slowly the angel did something he hadn’t done yet: he smiled. It almost made him handsome looking, not quite as I-escaped-from-a-mud-pit. “I’m here,” Castiel said quietly. “I made it out.”

The Dean on the other side looked like he was going to _cry_ , which Sam wasn’t quite sure what to do about that. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen his brother come to tears. Maybe when they’d had to shoot the kid two years ago, him and Dean’s ex-girlfriend, both undead and coming for them. That had been a bad day.

But this wasn’t grief at all: this was _happy_ , joyous in a way Sam also hadn’t seen on his brother in a long time. The other Dean stared at the angel like if he blinked or looked away, Castiel would disappear. “I thought I’d lost you,” the other Dean whispered. “I thought you were gone for good.”

This time, Castiel actually smirked. “Perhaps you both are rubbing off on me,” he said. “Winchesters have a tendency to escape the worst of scrapes.”

The other Sam snorted and the other Dean smiled, big and bright. He almost touched the mirror, hand up, before Ruby yanked his hand back. “Not yet,” she insisted. “If you do that now, the chance of you making it through is slim. We have to wait until it’s almost dawn. You’ll have about five minutes to transfer over.”

Wait a minute. “How?” Sam asked, trying not to sound as confused as he was. “You think we can just go through the mirror?”

“That’s exactly what I expect you to do,” Ruby told him. “You’ll grab a hold of each other and then pull. It should create a vacuum in space enough to pop you right back to where you need to be.”

He didn’t doubt her – he’d long learned not to doubt the demon – but it gave rise to another ugly thought. There was no cure. Which meant…

No wonder the others were all but silent, refusing to weigh in. They knew what was coming, what would have to happen. “Is it only us?” Dean asked after a moment. “Like, only we can get through the mirror? You guys can’t come through and escape?”

“No. I mean, we could try and come through, but the likelihood of any of us making it to the other side is slim to none.” Ruby didn’t look happy about relaying that news, and she glanced to the side to where the other Sam and Jess stood. It made part of Sam burn to watch.

“And I wouldn’t leave my mom or Bobby,” Jo said, speaking up at last. “We’re going to find them.”

They’d be down both of the Winchesters as they went, and Sam could only hope that they could join up with Ellen and Bobby. There were only so many roads that went north, after a while. Without Caleb or Ryan to cover the flanks, and Herb to cover the rear, they’d have to reconsider their positions if they hadn’t already.

He was very carefully staying away from the idea of _when we get back we’re going to die_ , because honestly, he wasn’t sure if he could handle watching Dean die. He wasn’t sure he had the strength to do it.

“About that,” Dean said. He looked straight at his double and asked, “Where the hell is your Bobby? I assume you have a Bobby, his number’s in the phone here. But he’s not answering. Neither is Ellen. So…where are they?”

The other Dean flinched and the other Sam looked away. “They’re gone,” the other Dean said roughly. “They’ve been gone for a while.”

Sam stared. No Bobby, no Ellen? “What about Jo? Andy? Ruby?”

“All dead,” the other Sam said softly. “There’s no one left.”

“You sure you didn’t have a zombie apocalypse?” Dean joked, but it was said mostly to cover the shock he could hear in his brother’s voice. All of them dead? No Ellen with her ability to muster the troops and yet be gentle in ways Sam didn’t remember how to anymore? No Bobby with his ability to research and find a way out of everything, one of the few who could still make Dean laugh?

…No Jess?

The other versions of themselves didn’t answer. They didn’t have to. It was in their faces, looking possibly even more worn and weary than Sam felt. They might not have had the end of the world with zombies, but it was clear that they’d been through something. And lost everyone in the process, apparently.

Incredibly, Jess leaned further into Sam, a tiny little move that no one else would’ve seen except Sam because he knew her, knew her like the back of his hand. And part of it hurt in a way that he’d never been able to squash out, that traitorous part of himself that had insisted he grow up and stop dreaming and become someone better suited for an apocalypse. He’d become the hunter and warrior his dad had always wanted him to be.

But part of him still wanted to be the man he thought he could’ve been. Because he was pretty sure that version of himself was the one Jess was holding on to.

“Not everyone is gone,” Castiel said, and Sam jumped, having almost forgotten about the angel. But the other Dean was watching Castiel now with hope in his eyes, and the angel smiled. “I’ll be here.”

Still. One angel against a whole platoon of people didn’t seem like much of a compensation gift. Sam glanced up at the mirror as it flashed again. “Ruby-?”

“I said it wouldn’t hold, this isn’t permanent,” she snapped. “Just…be ready right before dawn. We’ll do the transfer.”

The mirror moved in a wave once, twice, and then they were gone, leaving Sam and Dean only to look at themselves with the angel. The bite on Dean’s collarbone had never looked so red and mangled, and Sam could see the tiny black tendrils around his neck. He glanced at his own wrist and found the same black lines higher up his arm than they had been before.

It was a good thing Ruby had found them. They were out of time.

“Guess this is the goodbye tour,” Dean said dully. “I mean, I figured one of us might get bit but-“

He swallowed hard. The unspoken, _I didn’t want it to be you_ , came through loud and clear. “Yeah,” Sam said. “I didn’t want it to be you either.”

Castiel raised a hand tentatively towards them. “I can, I can try to heal it again-“

“No good, Feathers,” Dean said, and Castiel flinched. Dean ignored it. “It didn’t work the first time, won’t work this time.”

The angel opened his mouth to say something, anything, but then settled back down unhappily. “I’m…I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “It seems as if I’m doomed to fail the Winchesters.”

“I don’t know about that,” Sam said. “The other Dean seemed pretty happy to see you.” Actually, the other version of his brother had looked _very_ happy to see Castiel, like undo-my-broken-heart happy. But that was none of his business. And he definitely wasn’t any good reference for how to do a relationship. His mind flashed to the sight of Jess all but curled against the other Sam and his chest ached.

Then it kept aching, pain flaring inside, and he winced for a whole other reason. He could only hope they’d make it the next few hours until they could cross back over.

Dean let out a long breath. “God only knows what they’ll do,” he muttered. “They lost three people in a matter of days without us being there to help. If they’ve got any chance of finding Ellen and Bobby-“

It hurt, the thought of never seeing Ellen or Bobby again. For all Sam knew, they were already dead, or worse, turned, but knowing that he wasn’t going to even get the chance to know, it just felt…wrong. He supposed that was what dying was about: missed opportunities, life cut short unexpectedly.

Leaving behind those you cared about. Those you loved.

And god knew that Jo and Ruby and Jess and Andy and yes, even Oscar, they were all capable of doing what needed to be done, of handling themselves. But to lose three people, that was hard. To lose two more that you’d all but appointed as leaders…

A shoulder nudged against his and then Dean moved past him towards the door. “I’m not staying in here, cooped up, if it’s my last night,” he said. “Screw that. I want pizza. And beer. God I miss beer.”

“Game of pool?” Sam asked. “There has to be a bar around here somewhere.” Real bars with real people and still running, the whole world still spinning. It felt wrong to enjoy it, with the fate of the others so up in the air and their own clock running out.

Dean’s eyes lit up and his brother honest to god grinned. “Let’s do this.”

Something shifted on Sam’s face, something that almost hurt, and he realized a moment later that he was actually smiling. Dean’s own grin widened in response. “Yeah,” Sam said. “Let’s do this.”

He turned at the door to the angel, but Castiel shook his head. “I’m going to wait here, ensure that things stay safe,” he said. He gave them a small smile. “There’s a drinking establishment across the street and down several blocks. It would pass what I imagine is Dean’s idea of a bar.”

Drinking establishment. It made Sam almost want to have more time to spend with the angel, but he didn’t have time.

And if he only had a handful of hours left, then he was going to do exactly what he’d always planned on doing with his last days on earth.

He closed the door behind him and followed after Dean.

The room was as silent as a tomb. It was, perhaps, a horrible analogy, but it was true. Sam couldn’t even hear anyone else’s breaths.

They’d taken the opportunity of available space and made good use of it. Andy had taken up residence in the kitchenette with one of the pillows, and Oscar had taken the space near the bathroom against the wall there. Jo and Ruby had taken the beds, with Jess spread out on the other side of the kitchenette wall, where they’d sat together. They were all fast asleep, getting whatever rest they could.

Ruby had tried to insist she could stay up, she didn’t need to sleep. “We can do this,” Dean had told her. “We’ll keep watch tonight. Let us at least do that much.”

Demons _could_ sleep, something Sam had known, and it never failed to make him see Ruby as a little more innocent, a little less powerful, sacked out on the bed, curled up in a ball as she was. Jo, on the other hand, was sprawled from corner to corner of the bed, and it made Sam’s lips turn up at the sight. She’d done that at Bobby’s house too, and Ellen had come down complaining about having raised an octopus-

He swallowed hard, and despite his best intentions, his eyes went to where Jess was curled up on the floor. He knew how he’d find her, though.

When she’d first started sharing a bed with him, she’d been all sorts of polite, staying on the edge when they weren’t cuddling, insisting on being fair with the space. When they’d been together for a while, he’d realized that her hair, when not kept managed neatly beneath her head as she’d apparently been doing, went _everywhere_. And that she was a heat-seeking missile, one leg curled over his, one under, arms tucked up in front of her to cling to his shirt.

He greedily took in the sight of her lungs filling, proof that she was alive, and his eyes burned. No, he couldn’t keep torturing himself like this. He forced himself to move his gaze to his brother.

Dean had opted to take the other chair at the table, sitting across from Sam. He was carefully cleaning out Jo’s shotgun, fine-tuning it and taking care of the remaining shells. It was his way of being able to help them without being there himself, and Sam knew that he was deliberately keeping his eyes from the woman that had been their little sister. Just as Sam had moved his own gaze.

Without asking he held his hand out. Dean grabbed something – one of the handguns – and gave it to him. He immediately began to strip it down, noting where it felt a little gunky, a little worn. They worked in silence for a while, and if he focused hard enough, he could hear his brother’s breaths as he worked.

Eventually the silence was just too much, and the usually rhythmic sounds of working the weapons not enough to quell the anxiety inside of him. He gave Dean ample notice by clearing his throat, and to his credit, Dean didn’t even flinch. In fact, he actually set aside his weapon and gave Sam his full attention, which was far more than he’d been expecting. It was what his big brother used to do, before everything went to Hell, and it made part of the ache he felt fade. The memory of his big brother, upset and in his face earlier about Sam’s tendency to put anyone besides himself first, helped to shove the rest of the ache away.

He knew Dean was likely to bring it back up at some point. Dean had a memory sometimes like a steel trap. He found his voice at last. “So, Cas,” he said.

He wasn’t entirely sure if Dean was aware of how much he brightened at the mention of Castiel. Or the way his eyes had widened in pure joy when their friend had come into view. As angry as he’d been at Castiel for what he’d done to Sam, for what he’d done with the leviathans, it was clear that he’d missed him far more.

It wasn’t like Sam hadn’t missed him, either, and god was he glad to know that Castiel wasn’t in Purgatory, that he was out and safe and _alive_. But his feelings didn’t hold a candle to how Dean felt, that was clear. He wondered if, whenever they got back, if he couldn’t help but… _nudge_ that along.

“No clue how he did it,” Dean said, keeping his voice pitched low enough to not wake anyone. “But damn I’m glad he’s out.”

“Me too,” Sam said. “I guess we should probably get details on how, though. Because I’m sure there’s more to it, especially if the first thing he did was come looking for us.”

“Pop my bubble why don’t you,” Dean muttered, but he still had a smile on. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

It felt wrong to be so hopeful in the midst of everything, but it felt sort of like reaffirming a vow. Sam and Dean, brothers against everyone else. It was more than he could’ve ever expected to get back, let alone here in a world where there was a zombie apocalypse happening.

“Yeah,” he said, throat tight. “We will.”

A soft sound made him turn but his brain had known it wasn’t a danger before the rest of him had. Because he knew that sound, that soft sigh she gave as she shifted in her sleep, but he’d already turned his gaze back to Jess and felt his good mood plummet once more.

They were all dead, and he knew that. He just had to remind his heart of that. And it was harder when seeing them asleep and breathing here in this other world.

“So I’ve been thinking.”

“Uh oh.”

Dean just smacked him in the arm and he turned back with a shaky grin. “At least you warned me,” he tried. Normal, or at least what passed for normal for them. He could do that.

“I mean it. I just…it kills me, y’know?”

“What does?”

“Leaving them.”

Sam let out a sigh that felt like it came from the bottom of his soul. “I know,” he said quietly. “God, Dean, you think I don’t feel like that too? But what are we supposed to do? It’s bad enough that they’re going to have to do a firing squad on this world’s version of us, but there’s nothing we can do about it. Any of it.”

Dean didn’t say anything, but he didn’t look grieved by the words. If anything, he looked all the more determined. “What?” Sam asked hesitantly. He’d long learned to be beside his brother when he made that face and not in front of, because that meant Dean was ready to fight.

It surprised him, then, when Dean glanced at the mirror, eyes soft and almost sad for a moment, then turned back to Sam with quiet acceptance. He raised an eyebrow, that same, _I need you to back me up,_ that he’d been wearing since he was a teen. “Well?” was all he said.

And suddenly Sam knew exactly what his brother was saying. His eyes went wide.

Not even fifteen minutes later, Ruby’s alarm went off, and the entire room woke up all at once. Various states of wakefulness happened, from frightened to defensive. When they all realized where they were, however, and what was happening, all of them seemed to freeze.

Sam stood beside Dean in front of the mirror. “Ruby, we’re ready,” he said quietly. “It’s time.”


	9. The Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Sam say goodbye. The other Dean and Sam say goodbye permanently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I didn't tag this as Major Character Death because our Sam and Dean survive, but the other two were bit and are thus going to die. Just warning you now. The Sam and Dean we know don't die.
> 
> While this is technically the end, there is an epilogue so I hope you guys enjoy!

It didn’t take long to set up. Ruby didn’t need any fresh blood, but she did mark the mirror along the sides with their blood to give them a better chance of getting through. “I shouldn’t need more,” she assured them. “I damn well better not.”

It was clear that she was still furious with herself for the entire situation. “Well, still the best witch I know,” Dean told her. She gave him a look that spoke of how little she believed him, but she turned her attention back to the spell. The guttural words under her breath still left him fighting off a shiver, but this time, the mirror shimmered from top to bottom, edge to edge, and when Dean blinked, there was their room, far cleaner and better kept, and their other selves on the other side. His eyes immediately went to the other figure in the room, and he felt his shoulders lower at the sight of Castiel. Ever there, ever constant, ever faithful. Castiel’s lips turned up slightly at the sight of them, relief on his face, and Dean’s stomach twisted at the sight.

Then his eyes went to the other versions of themselves and he blinked in surprise. They looked…bad. Their eyes were sunken and they were clearly sweating. The bite on the other Sam’s wrist stood out vividly with red and black everywhere, and Dean could see his other self with black up the side of his neck. They looked like they were barely standing up.

Jo gasped at the sight of them. “Oh god, guys…”

“Yeah,” the other Sam rasped. “We know. It hit pretty fast. It’s bad.”

The other Dean nodded. “Time to get this show on the road. Ruby, how do we connect?”

“Hand to hand, skin to skin,” Ruby said. She sounded faint for a moment, eyes roving between the other Winchesters. She swallowed hard and forced her shoulders back. “You’ve got a few minutes but we shouldn’t dawdle.”

“Yeah,” Dean said softly. He glanced at Sam again, gauging his brother. They hadn’t been able to read each other in a long time, not like they used to, but now he could easily read what his little brother was saying. _I’m with you._

It was probably more than he deserved, after how damn disconnected they’d been. But he’d take it.

He turned back to the mirror and looked straight at himself. Because this was it, the point of no return. Strangely, it didn’t feel as horrible as he thought it might be. Maybe because Sam had backed him, no hesitation, no questions asked. “I wish I’d followed you a lot of times in my life,” he’d said. “And I didn’t. I’m not making that mistake again.”

There was more than Dean wanted to unpack at the moment, but later. Not now. They were on a time limit.

Ruby frowned at him. “What are you doing?” she snapped. “You need to go, let’s go. Now.”

He didn’t say anything, just kept watching his other self. The other Dean cocked his head, eyes narrowing before widening slightly in realization. Somehow, his other self didn’t honestly look that surprised. Guess these really were just different versions of themselves. “You sure?” the other Dean asked all the same.

“Yeah,” Dean told him. “We are.”

The other Dean shook his head but gave a wry grin. “Yeah, we figured. Same shoes and whatever.” He rustled around with something out of sight, and then he brought his hand up to the mirror. Moment of truth.

Dean reached out to meet his hand, and as one their hands met. It felt…weird, to grab his own hand, but it definitely wasn’t Sam’s or anyone else’s. It felt like a shot of electricity jolting through his very being to what Dean could’ve sworn was his soul. He grabbed hold and waited.

The other Dean brought his second hand up and pushed the bag into Dean’s waiting palm. He pulled it through and it came easily, not even exploding or anything. So it had worked, then. “Send the rest,” Dean said.

The other Sam was there, too, and Sam reached out to make his own connection. They transferred another two bags before Ruby finally found her voice. “Provisions?” she asked. “Not that I’ll say no but I don’t want to leave you two empty-handed.”

“You won’t,” Sam said. “We’re keeping them.”

Jo’s eyes went from Dean to the other Dean, completely bewildered. “What’s going on?” she finally asked.

Dean fought to find his voice. “We’re staying,” he said at last. “Here. With you guys.”

Jess’s eyes went wide and she glanced at Sam who smiled at her. She looked stunned but that was definitely hope in her eyes. Still, she sputtered out a protest. “But, but-“

“You guys have a whole world!” Andy exclaimed. “With lights and food and porn! And no zombies!”

“And no you,” Sam said. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of Jess whose own eyes had begun to fill with tears. “We have no one left to go back for.”

Well. Not entirely true.

Slowly Dean brought his gaze up to the mirror, past his other self and the other Sam. Castiel stood, frozen, eyes filled with more pain than Dean would’ve thought possible. “Cas,” he began, and then he swallowed, throat too tight to continue. Castiel didn’t move, and he looked as lost as he had when Dean had last seen him in Purgatory.

It forced him to find the words. “You don’t need me,” he said. “Not, not really. Not like they do. You’ve got the whole damn Host. Sam and I, we’re a blip in your existence-“

“You have never been just a ‘blip’,” Castiel said, voice shaking, but Dean cut him off.

“No, we have, I mean, I hope it’s been a good blip but…” He wanted to tear his gaze from Castiel, anywhere else that wasn’t the wounded look on his friend’s face, but he couldn’t seem to do it. “This is where we need to be,” he said at last. “I’m sorry, Cas.” _Sorrier than you know._

Because as obvious as the choice to stay had been, he sort of wished he hadn’t seen Castiel. That had been the hardest thing to let go of. He could give up the internet and gyros. Giving up Castiel was infinitely harder.

“What about them?” Oscar asked, gesturing to the mirror. “They’re infected, they can’t stay there-“

“We’re not.”

The other Sam’s voice fell like a sledgehammer. The image came to mind, Sam putting a bullet in his brain, and Dean had to turn then to see his own brother. Living, breathing, no bites, no infection. Not going to kill himself for the greater good.

Wasn’t like Sam had done that before or anything. And the thought of losing Sam again, after finally finding each other, was about more than he could stand. Not his Sammy. Not again.

If they stayed, they’d be in constant danger, never knowing when the next zombie attack would hit, always on guard, always on the defense. They wouldn’t be promised tomorrow.

No different than their own world, in a way. At least here they wouldn’t be doing it alone.

The last bag came through and a hand suddenly shot out and grabbed his wrist. Dean turned and there was Ruby, more solemn than he’d ever seen her, eyes black. “Be very sure,” she said, voice low. “I can’t undo this, Dean.”

He watched her for a long minute then gave a firm nod. “I’m sure, Goldielocks,” he told her. Slowly she began to grin, a growing, hopeful thing, and for a moment, he wondered if something really had happened to the demon who’d allied herself with them. If Alistair had twisted her to Lilith’s machinations, or if he’d just killed her.

All the bags were on their side of the mirror now. “Shatter the mirror,” Ruby told the other Winchesters. “Only way I can be sure the connection is broken. We’ll break our side. Keep that world safe.”

“We will.” The other Sam paused, and Dean realized there was blood beading on his brow. The infection was probably nearing its end. “Uh, Jess?”

Jess froze. “Just, uh. Take care of yourself,” the other Sam said, awkward in a way that Dean had never heard his brother. His brother was always good with words, good with people, sympathetic to the last. This was what he’d become in this world. The hunter and nothing more. It made his heart break a little.

After a moment, Jess gave a stilted nod. “I will.”

“Good. I, good,” the other Sam stammered. He swallowed hard before he squared his shoulders. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be what you needed. What…what I wanted. But I think you have it now.” He glanced beyond Jess to where Sam had come up beside her. “Keep her safe,” he said quietly. “Keep them all safe.”

“I will,” Sam swore. Jess leaned into him and Dean watched his brother shut his eyes for a minute. The woman he’d loved and lost and she was there by his side again.

There was nothing left to say, after that. Well, there were a multitude of words that Dean wanted to say to Castiel but doing so was only going to break his own damn heart, and yes, he could be man enough to admit that. Getting back the family he’d lost would cost him Cas, the angel he’d called friend, the one being he’d…

“Uh, guys?”

Andy was at the window, and his face was pale. “I don’t think we got rid of the whole swarm,” he said frantically. “That or they picked up new members.”

“Go,” the other Dean said immediately. “Get the hell out of there now. You can’t whole up and hide from a swarm, you know that.”

Sam and Jess were at the window now, and Sam cursed a blue streak. “Yeah, Dean, we gotta go,” he said. “Like, now.”

The group began to move, then as one stopped and turned to the mirror. The other Winchesters stood as tall as they could, showing no weakness, even though they were both clearly flagging. “You guys got this,” the other Dean said. “You’re in good hands. You’re in _our_ hands. Find Ellen and Bobby. And get the hell out of here.”

“Let’s go then,” Ruby said, and she grabbed two of the bags. Sam caught one and Jess caught the other, and Ruby grabbed two more. “Shortbus, c’mon!”

They needed to go, they needed to get out, but all Dean could do was look back at the mirror. The other Sam had a rock in hand and was getting ready to smash the mirror, and it was his last chance to say something, anything. Castiel was watching him with the same wide eyes, mouth open and ready to speak, and then the other Sam hefted the rock.

“Dean, we gotta go!” his Sam shouted, and Dean tore himself from the mirror to grab the last of the bags. He hurried to the door and got out in time, eyes widening at what he saw.

The rising sun gave him more than enough light to see what was coming. Down the highway and spilling out into the street was a group larger than the one he’d seen when he’d crossed between the two buildings. It made a dull roar that buzzed in his ears and thudded through his bones. There were hundreds, maybe even a thousand or so of them, all crammed together, all of them moving together like a wave in the ocean. And they were all coming towards the motel at a faster pace than he would’ve liked.

“Shit,” he muttered, hurrying towards the truck. Ruby got into the driver’s seat with Andy and Oscar covering her, and Sam shoved Jess into the back seat. His brother had gotten a gun out of the bag he had in his hand – shotgun, good choice for taking off heads – and he hurried into the back of the truck.

Wait. That was five. Where was-

“Jo!” he shouted, eyes scanning everywhere. “Jo!”

“Hang on!” she shouted back from somewhere behind him, and Dean whirled around. She was still in the damn room, and he could see her digging for something. “I can’t find my lighter!”

Ruby began to get out of the truck, eyes wide in terror. “Oakley, get the hell out of there-!”

Dean waved her off even as he raced back. “Stay there! I’ll get her!”

A window crashed. Jo screamed and Dean’s heart slammed against his ribs. All he could think of was the hellhounds from a few years ago, tearing into her and no. Not again. Not again, no, he couldn’t have made the decision to stay and then lose her-

“ _Jo_!” he shouted, racing back to the motel. Even as he nearly cleared the door something slammed into him, and he registered blonde and panting and _alive_. “Jo-“

“I’m okay,” she said breathlessly. His fingers tightened in her shoulders. “I’m, I’m okay, it’s dead, it didn’t get me.”

Relief made him dizzy, and his eyes shot past her to the mirror. Smashed. Gone. There was no turning back now. His heart stuttered but he swallowed it back. He’d made the choice, and the mirror had needed to be smashed, but this felt final. Cas was really gone.

Groaning from inside the room came with the cracking of more glass. There were still more coming. “Move, we gotta go,” he told Jo, who continued to tremble in his arms.

“Dean!” Sam shouted, terrified, and Dean saw more zombies pouring out from around the edge of the building. He shoved Jo ahead of him and pulled the first thing he could get his hands on - his machete - out of his bag. One swing took a head off, a backswing took out the next one, but the third made him take a step back.

And straight into the path of the open door, where another zombie came out. He felt cold and slimy and _wrong_ on his shoulder and he jerked away, heart in his throat. He swung up and caught the arm, but another came from around the building, and there were just too many.

A shot went off. Another. They were surrounding the truck too, and he watched one creep up behind Sam. “Sammy look out!” he shouted. It disappeared in a cloud of dark blood as Jess took it out.

His watching Sam cost him. Something grabbed hold of his shoulder and he couldn’t bring his arm up in time. A growl in his ear was all the warning he got before a rancid mouth made for his neck.

“Dean! _Dean_!”

Something bright flashed, hot and angry and so damn _familiar_. Dean winced against it and felt the zombie let go, heard the moaning rise to an almost scream before it cut off. The brightness faded from the inside of his eyelids, and he tentatively opened his eyes in the ensuing silence.

The first thing he thought was, _He needs to wash that damn coat._ And then his brain caught up with the rest of what that meant and he could only stare.

Castiel stood, trench coat waving in the slight breeze, hand outstretched. All that remained of the first wave of the zombies were piles of ash on the ground. “There’s more coming,” he said grimly. “We need to move.”

“Cas?” Sam gasped. “How, how-“

“It turns out that angels don’t implode when crossing through mirror portals to other worlds,” he said. “I smashed it as soon as I got through.”

That meant Cas had been the one to smash the mirror, not one of the zombies. But that meant…that meant…

Castiel looked straight at him and Dean couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything except stare at the angel who’d come through the portal and left everything behind. For them. For _him._

He watched as Castiel walked towards him and when a hand reached down, Dean managed to take it. Castiel pulled him to standing and rested his hand on his shoulder. “We need to move,” he said again and began to pull away.

Without even thinking Dean reached and hauled Castiel in. Alive and safe and _here_. Because Dean had stayed. Familiar arms wrapped around him, tentative but growing surer in their grasp with each second that passed. “Not letting go this time,” Dean whispered roughly, and Castiel’s grip tightened even more. Because he needed Cas, and to know that the angel felt the same way-

“Me neither,” Castiel whispered back “And you were wrong.”

“I was?”

“Yes. Because I do need you.”

He pulled back and stared into vivid blue eyes. He couldn’t find words, he couldn’t find anything except the ability to tighten his grasp on Castiel’s shoulders.

“If we want to avoid the rest of the swarm, we gotta move!” Ruby shouted. “Yo, Feathers, let’s go!”

Castiel aimed a glare in her direction. “Why is that always my nickname?” he asked in what Dean could’ve sworn was a whine. He choked back a hysterical laugh and caught hold of Castiel’s hand. It felt warm in his.

Together they hurried to the truck where Sam pulled them into the back bed. It was only then that he realized he was still holding onto Castiel’s hand despite now sitting down. He half-expected some comment but Sam just smiled, a real Sammy smile that said that his brother was honest to god happy and oh. _Oh_. Happy _for_ him. It made him smile, too, because it wasn’t often that his little brother was that sort of happy.

The truck pulled away and Dean could see the next swell of the swarm just beyond the lift of the road. “Not sure how much gas we’ve got,” Jo called through the window, “but we’re going to keep moving as best we can.”

“Gas is not going to be a problem,” Castiel told her. “I’ll keep the truck moving.”

Jo blinked, like she hadn’t truly considered everything an angel could do, and Dean’s smile broadened. “Tell Ruby to punch it,” he told her. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

She disappeared from the window and Jess took her place, eyes brightening at the sight of Sam. Sam’s entire being radiated in a way that Dean had _never_ seen on his brother and it made him ache for the years that he’d missed Sam at Stanford with his girl. He wished he’d known Jess then, back before everything had gone to hell. But she was here now, alive and real and Sam was eating it up, almost drunk on her. He said something with a grin and she laughed, curls flying in the breeze. They were both happier than anyone should’ve been in the middle of the end of the world.

Dean didn’t really have a leg to stand on. Not with his fingers tightly entwined with Castiel’s. It felt like a second or third or maybe even a ninth chance with the guy who’d somehow become so damn important to him, and he didn’t know where it could go, only that he wanted it to. Here, with zombies and death around them, they could find more life than they’d had back in their world. The irony was poetic, if nothing else.

Castiel squeezed his hand and nodded to one of the bags. “You may want to open that sooner rather than later,” he said. “It won’t stay warm forever.”

Frowning, Dean let go of Castiel at last and reached for the bag. The smell hit him first, and after the shock passed, he couldn’t help but laugh and laugh, stomach aching and eyes watering. When Sam leaned over to see what on earth had set him off, he wound up losing it as well, hysterical laughter bubbling over.

When they’d finally calmed themselves down, and everyone else had demanded to know what the hell was wrong with them both, they began to pass out the paper bags hidden inside. The gyros and French fries were still warm, wrapped in tin foil, and Dean savored every damn bite. He’d miss gyros.

But seeing Jo’s bright smile, hearing Andy’s laugh, listening to Ruby and Oscar fight over the last of the French fries, watching Jess watch Sam watch Jess watch- okay, that was a little nauseating, he could admit that. Whatever. The point was that they were all there and he’d miss a million gyros just for that alone.

Castiel felt like a furnace beside him. Sam was within arm’s reach and smiling. Sounds of life filtered through the cab as they barreled down the road.

Whatever tomorrow held, Dean felt good about it for the first time in years.

In a small motel room, two bodies lay side by side, two guns still smoking in their hands. Their eyes were closed, lips turned up into almost smiles. Their hands were brushing and their bite wounds were just that and nothing more. Their souls had already moved on, far better things to do than dwell in a place where no one was left to dwell for.

A world and miles apart, two other bodies lay side by side in a moving truck. Their eyes were closed, lines of exhaustion on their faces. Their hands were brushing as they slept, passed out from the lack of sleep from multiple days and nights staying awake. An angel watched over them and the other souls in the truck as they headed north towards hope.


	10. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What comes after the final decision: life in a new world, old and new faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been an oddball fic, I completely grant you that. I super appreciate everyone who's commented and read it; thank you for your support. Consider this a huge hug from me to you!

The trek up through North Carolina and Virginia was easier than they’d expected, in some ways. It turned out, having an angel with nearly full powers made a lot of things better. He could sense the zombies faintly, always knew which buildings were filled to the brim and which ones could be cleared without any hesitation. He was a formidable fighter, and though he couldn’t fly them everywhere (fly, the guy could actually _fly_ ), he could still move one or two of them out of danger’s way if they needed to. And that was more than Jo could scarcely believe and she’d already seen him do it several times.

The only thing he couldn’t do was heal the virus. Any attempts to heal people resulted in burning them to nothing but ash and knocking Castiel on his ass. The first time he’d tried after they’d run into a sole survivor, they’d found a room to fortify and had waited until he’d woken up. Dean had been a bear until Sam had yanked him to the side and told him they were all worried, shut _up_ and sit down already. After that, he’d still been a bear, but a quieter bear. Castiel had woken up a few hours later, dizzy but mostly upright. He hadn’t looked too surprised by not being able to heal people, more heartbroken than anything else. It had made Jo stick closer to him, wondering if she could ward off the sadness. Not as well as Dean could, but she’d still tried, and Castiel had rewarded her with a fond smile for her efforts.

The next time he’d tried it, they’d simply put him in the back of the truck and hurried down the road. He hadn’t tried again since.

It was outside of D.C. that things got frightening again.

They’d agreed to cut up and around the eastern seaboard, steering clear of the city. On a hilltop in what had been Arlington, Virginia, they’d looked down at the massive city of D.C. and seen the bridges laden with empty cars, a few buildings decimated from the early days when the virus had broken out and people had rioted. Jo had spied a few random zombies but not many.

“There’s at least one swarm in the city,” Castiel told them. He narrowed his gaze and tucked his head to the side. “Large, too, Over two hundred of them.”

“Want to throw another vehicular cocktail at it?” Sam asked. Dean snorted and glanced over towards the right, where the lanes divided.

Jo just waited. The others may have had an issue with Dean and Sam taking the lead (which, if they did, they’d kept to themselves), but Jo was all for it. She could lead if she had to. She’d rather be one who could support the leader, though.

Besides, it wasn’t like they didn’t ask for opinions. “Thoughts?” Dean asked the group at large.

“Avoid,” Ruby said tightly. “It’s not worth cutting through the city.”

“Could be supplies,” Jess pointed out, but she looked just as thrilled as Ruby at the idea of heading into the city.

Oscar shook his head. “Keep me sandwiched and I’m fine. I’ll go where you guys go.”

“Outside perimeter,” Andy said. “We’ll be helmed in by the ocean but we won’t be trapped between buildings at least.”

Dean glanced at her last, and Jo just hefted her rifle in her hands. “I go where you go,” she said. “I’m okay with whatever.”

“Where were you guys originally planning to go with your mom?” Sam asked quietly. “Which path?”

Jo swallowed. She hadn’t even let herself hope or think about her mom. It still hurt too much. “Um. Up around the beltway, skirting around D.C., taking I-95 as best as we could.”

“Pass a lot of big cities that way,” Dean pointed out. “Baltimore, New York City, just to name a few. You get pretty close to Boston that way, too.”

Yeah, that had been the not so great part of their plan. “It might be the best chance to find Ellen and Bobby, though,” Ruby said. “Let’s keep to the loop around the city and we should be okay.”

So they drove down the next exit, avoiding zombies and getting out to physically remove some vehicles from their path before they could continue on. Still, nothing horrible, nothing they couldn’t handle. Even the airport they passed was empty, the planes vacant and silent on the tarmac. They skirted around the worst of what used to be Alexandria and hit the interstate.

They hadn’t even been on the highway long before they reached a huge bridge over the Potomac River and suddenly found the road ahead flooded with zombies. Jo stared from the truck bed at the numbers even as Dean slammed on the brakes. “Shit shit _shit_. Cas-!”

“There’s too many for me to tell where they are, and I can’t take them out, not that many,” Castiel said, apologetic and frantic all at once. “Some, but not all of them.”

“Then get rid of the ones you can,” Ruby told him. “And hurry!”

Castiel hurried, hopping out of the vehicle and standing in front of the trunk. The zombies lumbered towards them, their sheer presence enough to move vehicles without a thought as they pushed on through. It made Jo’s heart beat wildly in her chest, her skin turn clammy and cold. She hefted her rifle and waited.

The angel lifted his hand straight at the zombies. The air went white and Jo instinctively shut her eyes. The heat was always this side of uncomfortably warm but it was reassuring in a way. She waited until the light disappeared before she opened her eyes again.

Then her heart stopped.

Because the light had disappeared thanks to a zombie who’d been close enough to knock Castiel over. Even though the zombie was dead for good, it had still broken Castiel’s attention, and suddenly more zombies came in from the sides, and all of them were heading for the angel still trying to get to his feet in the middle of the road.

“Cas!” Dean shouted, already jumping out. Jo didn’t even think, just started firing shot after shot. She got four down and realized that more were coming up through the broken road barrier, moving towards the truck now. In a minute, they were going to be overrun.

Dean had a hold of Cas and took out two zombies in the meanwhile, blasting them away with his shotgun. Cas reached his hand out to one and the zombie lit up from inside before falling. A few more fell beside Dean but they needed to get out of there. _Now_.

“Get back in here now!” Ruby shouted. She slid into the driver’s seat and gave Andy her shotgun. “Dean!”

“Go, go, go!” Sam yelled, and he punctuated his order with firing on the zombies that kept Dean from the truck. Dean tugged Castiel behind him and together they made it back to the truck. A zombie growled and tried to get into the back bed and was promptly kicked off by Dean. “Ruby, go!”

Ruby didn’t need anything else from Sam. She hit the gas and they floored it through a lot of the zombies. A few stayed on the front, undeterred by their lack of legs or arms, and just kept trying to get at the people inside. Jo took off two more while Jess took care of another one. One look at her rifle told her she’d need more ammo, so she rapped on the window twice, causing Oscar to start digging through the bags.

She made the mistake of glancing behind them and felt her stomach churn. There were a lot of zombies giving chase. “Please tell me you know where we’re going,” she called to the front cab. “Because we’ve got company.”

“Are you guys okay?” Sam asked, kneeling beside Dean and Castiel. “Dean?”

“Not bit,” Dean told him. “Cas?”

“In pain,” Castiel said, and Jo froze. He immediately shook his head at their looks of alarm. “I overdid it, I wasn’t bit. I tried to take on too many at once.”

Jo glanced behind them again. At least fifty zombies were continuing to keep pace with them, something that shouldn’t have been happening. “Why are we going so slow?” she cried.

“Uh, you want to try and drive around and through cars?” Ruby snapped. “I’m going as fast as I can but we can’t get out and move cars like we usually do, and it’s not like this thing is a battering ram!”

No, not with the multitude of vehicles on the interstate. Up ahead, the mainland beckoned, and if they could just get to it, they’d be okay. “Hurry!” Jo yelled as the bridge filled with zombies. She could physically feel their presence making the bridge shake underneath the truck. Their gaping mouths let out horrific moans and hungry growls and every single one went down her spine.

The truck suddenly lurched, hard and fast enough that she nearly fell out of the back of the truck. A hand caught her by the arm and hauled her back as the truck came to a grinding halt. “Jo!” she heard Ruby shout from the front.

“I’m okay,” she gasped. Sam didn’t look completely convinced of that but he did let go of her arm. Something let go of her ankle, something she hadn’t even felt, and she wasn’t at all surprised to see Dean pull his hand back. Overprotective big brothers, the both of them. It never failed to make her smile.

Well, not at the moment. “What’s wrong with the truck?” Dean shouted. “Ruby!”

“I think we blew a tire,” Jess said, face pale as she stuck her head out the window, and Jo raced to peer over the side of the truck. The back right tire was indeed blown to shreds. They probably had a spare.

They definitely didn’t have time.

“What do we do?” Andy asked frantically. “What do we _do_?”

“Grab the bags,” Sam ordered. Jo instantly tossed herself out of the back of the truck and raced around to the cab to help people out. She glanced back and saw Dean helping Castiel down. He still looked pale and she could see the worry on Dean’s face.

She could see the zombies, too. “We can’t outrun a swarm like that,” Oscar protested.

“We need to get out of its way,” Sam told them. “There’s an exit not far from here, we can figure something out, but we’ve gotta get off the highway now!”

That was if they made it to the exit. Already Jo could see other zombies on the other lanes ahead moving slow but speeding up at the sight and sound of them. The heat of the day would only help the zombies and hurt them: already Jo felt sweat dripping down the back of her neck. And they were being slowly shoved towards the river where they’d be at a disadvantage. Zombies naturally floated so they’d only be able to swim for so long. And Jo couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually gone swimming.

For the first time in a long time, Jo felt real fear creep into her stomach. They might not make this.

“Oakley, let’s go!” Ruby yelled. Jo raced to catch up as Dean and Castiel finally joined her. An overpass above them looked clear, accessible from the exit ahead, and if they could make the exit, they could get to the overpass, easy. It was too high to reach and the zombies would take forever to get to them. They just had to make it.

Except even as they hurried to the exit, a handful of zombies came out from the other side of the overpass. Sam slid to a halt and grabbed Andy and Jess to keep them from going farther. Dean hefted his shotgun with one arm, ready to blow away the few that were just starting to move towards them, but the shotgun made no sound. He froze and Jo realized he was out, had probably fired his last shots trying to save Castiel earlier. Even as she raised her own rifle, even as Jess raised her gun and Sam his, a voice from above called out.

“Get on the delivery truck and hurry!”

Jo obeyed without hesitation, racing to the old Fed-Ex truck that had stopped halfway beneath the overpass. She managed to catch the top edge with Sam’s help and climbed all the way up, helping the others do the same. Then she turned to the person who’d called her.

Familiar eyes smiled at her, tears making them sparkle. “Get the hell up here! Take my hand!”

“ _Ellen_!” Dean shouted in relief from behind her. Beside her stood Bobby, hat dirtier than before but still on. He grabbed Mom’s hand and let her lean over the edge. With Dean’s help, Jo stepped up from his cupped hands and touched her mom for the first time in months. Her heart pounded, torn between fear and joy, and she thought she’d pass out.

As soon as she was up on the overpass she leaned over and reached her own hand out. Sam tossed one bag, then two, then three. Oscar came up next, followed by Andy, then Jess by Sam’s decree. The zombies had almost reached the truck by then, and Jo watched as the few from under the overpass began to shove at the sides. The swarm was still coming over the bridge.

Castiel came up with Ruby’s help, then Dean took a jump with Sam’s help to Ellen’s and Bobby’s waiting hands. As soon as Dean came up over the edge, he didn’t pause and immediately turned back around. “Sammy come on!” he shouted.

Sam hesitated, backing up to give himself a running start. “Sam! Come _on_!” Jess yelled.

One step, two, and then Sam began to run the short distance before launching himself into the air. Dean all but fell off the bridge to reach for him, and only Bobby and Castiel managed to catch him. Jo watched Dean and Sam connect in the air, and she shut her eyes tight. Too close.

“Can I?” an unfamiliar voice said, and Jo turned to where a young woman stood, handling what looked like…

“Do it!” Mom called and the woman pulled the pin and cocked it back, then threw it with everything she had. The grenade sailed over their heads to land on the bridge ahead of the swarm, and Jo waited with breath held. For a long moment, nothing happened.

The grenade suddenly blew, sending the nearby cars flying along with a few zombies. When Jo could see again, the bridge still stood but looked damaged. The cars were flaming wrecks. And beyond them, most of the zombies were on fire, twitching and then going still. Some of the zombies kept going, but the instant they got too close to the cars they caught fire. The flames licked at what was left of them and brought them to their knees.

Slowly Jo rose to her feet. Silence reigned over the group for a long moment.

“Should’ve known we’d wind up nearly blowing the Woodrow Wilson Bridge to hell and back,” Bobby finally said at last. “Ain’t nothin’ simple and easy when the Winchesters get involved.”

Dean let out a laugh and hurried forward, Sam right behind him, and if Bobby was surprised by the two massive hugs he got, he didn’t show it, instead grabbing back just as hard. Jo didn’t see much of what happened next because she was busy with her mom. Alive, dirty, hair pulled back into a ponytail that was already falling out, and she still gave the best damn hugs when Jo grabbed for her. Mom swallowed her up and held on tight, and tears sprang to Jo’s eyes.

“Didn’t think we’d meet back up,” Mom whispered. “Oh god, Jo, honey…”

“I’m okay,” Jo choked out. “We’re okay.”

“…Caleb?”

Jo swallowed. “And Herb and Ryan.”

Mom squeezed harder. A minute later and Mom let go to turn to Oscar, already mothering him and his bedhead hair. Jo glanced at their bedraggled group and felt so much hope inside of her she thought she’d burst. It was enough to make her turn to Ruby and suddenly tug her in for another embrace. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. Ruby felt like a steel rod against her, frozen in place, and then-

Slowly, hesitantly, two arms came up around her. Jo felt her lips turn up into a smile.

“You have no idea how much I’ve been dying to throw a grenade, like a real grenade. It’s way different than in a game. Well, most of my games didn’t involve grenades, they involved swords-“

“Charlie?”

Dean’s voice made her pull back. Jo glanced at the young woman that both Dean and Sam were staring at. The young woman glanced at them both then flipped her long, vibrantly red hair back over her shoulder. “Uh, yeah. That’s me. Are you psychic or something?”

Jo couldn’t help but look to Sam, and so did pretty much everyone except Oscar. Sam rolled his eyes. “Wait, really?” Charlie asked, eyes bugging.

“No, not, I mean, I used to be but-“

“It’s a longer story,” Dean said. “A lot longer.”

“You picked up someone new, too,” Bobby said with a nod to Castiel. “Who’s the tax accountant?”

Castiel gave a sigh. “I’m not a tax accountant,” he said wearily, as if he said this all the time, “I’m an angel of the lord.”

That got some fantastic responses. Dean grinned like it was the greatest trick of them all.

Yeah. Wait until Mom and Bobby heard about _their_ side of things. She wondered who Charlie had been, in their world. Clearly someone else they were fond of.

Ruby tugged at her sleeve. “C’mon, Oakley. We gotta get moving. Let’s get the bags.”

“North?” Sam asked. “I need a map, we need to avoid more cities.”

“And find a van,” Dean pointed out. “Something to carry all of us. The sooner we get to Maine, the better.”

Together they all started down the road, the remaining zombies still moaning beneath them. Jo took a risk and grabbed Ruby’s hand. Ruby predictably rolled her eyes but didn’t let go. Mom gave a snort but didn’t say anything.

“You two are cozy,” Bobby drawled, and Jo took in a breath to say something, then realized he was looking at Sam and Jess. The older man raised his eyebrows. “You got somethin’ to tell us?”

Jess raised an eyebrow. Sam glanced at Dean and the two shared a smile. “Yeah, funny, that,” Dean began, and Castiel stepped up closer beside him.

She looked at the decrepit road ahead of them as the story came out. The heat was stifling and she couldn’t wait to get to the cooler weather. An island with waves lapping against the shore, a garden, a greenhouse for the snow. Finding a house for her and Mom. And Ruby. Sam and Dean down the road with Jess and Castiel, because there was no way that _that_ wasn’t happening. Then Bobby, probably taking in Oscar and Andy because how could he not, and they’d find a place for Charlie somewhere. All of them on an island, safe from the zombies.

It made her smile. As much as she’d hated for Dean and Sam to give up their old lives, their old world, she couldn’t help but be grateful that they were here. She wouldn’t be standing beside her mom again if they hadn’t.

They kept going as they ever did.

The biting cold stung against his cheek. Shivering, he buried himself further in his coat and kept his eyes peeled towards the hill above them.

It had been a long six months. Six months of walking, six months of surviving, six months of coming together and actually _talking_ with little else to do on the roads up to Maine.

But Sam thought it had been good, in its own way.

He glanced back as the rest of the group followed. They’d been joined by a few more people, been a part of a much larger swath of people for a while, lost a lot of them, but they had stayed together, their core group. Had a few scares, but they were still together.

Jess kept to the rear with Bobby, both of them bundled in coats as thick as could be. She looked like a snow bunny with the fur trim but the one time Sam had told her that, she’d smacked him hard enough in the arm to bruise. He hadn’t tried again. Dean had thought the whole thing _hilarious_.

Ahead of them, Andy and Charlie carried some of the bags. Kevin and Oscar were ahead of them, and little Isabel sandwiched amongst the four of them. She’d been one of the survivors of the larger group, having already lost her family near the start of the disease. She was all but buried in the coat they’d found for her, two sizes too big but warm, and that was all that mattered. She’d grow into it. He could still see the little blonde curls sticking out from the hood, her bright blue eyes glancing between Oscar and Kevin as they debated something heavily. He could already see Charlie looking eager to get into it with them and Andy sighing in resignation. Probably had to do with one of their nerdier arguments, then.

Seeing Kevin Tran in a straggler of survivors had been a shock to the system. He’d lost his mom and been down to no one, just traveling with two others to stay safer in numbers. Funnily enough, he _had_ been having prophetic visions, and Castiel had given him the explanation he’d clearly been searching for. Keeping him with them as the other two had decided to go west hadn’t been hard, and they’d continued to move north.

Ruby and Jo kept pace easily with Ellen, weapons out, but they were casually slung over shoulders as they quietly talked amongst each other. Ruby had cut her hair after nearly getting caught by a zombie about a month ago and it was still around chin length now, jagged on one side. Dean had offered to even it out for her, years of playing barber to Sam’s hair giving him a unique set of skills, but Ruby had declined, saying she’d liked it that way, and others liked it, too. No guess as to who “others” had been.

Castiel led the charge, trench coat worn above a thicker sweater. There was enough Grace to keep him angelic and powerful, but he felt the cold more easily these days. “I’ve already Fallen once,” Castiel had told them when they’d found out, and he’d given them an easy smile. “I’m not afraid to do it again.”

The reason for that, Sam was certain, was currently climbing the hill ahead of the rest of the group to join Sam. “Anything?” Dean asked.

Sam peered out again. The town below them was empty, from the looks of it. It hadn’t been a big town, nestled against a harbor that led directly to the sea. A multitude of boats still bounced with the tide. Some of the docks were empty, and many of the boats were destroyed, their shells sticking up through the top of the water.

But there were a few big boats, big enough to ferry them out to their goal. Sam cast his eyes further out to where the farthest glimmer of something stood out in the water. One of the smaller islands, sandwiched neatly between Maine and Canada.

“Nothing,” Sam told him. “That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything, but I can’t see or hear a thing.”

Dean cast his gaze out too, and Sam waited patiently. He’d learned patience in the past six months. He’d learned how to read his brother again, too. Dean didn’t doubt him. Dean was double checking for everyone’s safety, to be Sam’s backup the way that Sam was his.

It never ceased to be funny that in a world where everything had gone to hell and had essentially ended, they’d found everything, including each other.

There’d been some rocky conversations. A lot of hurt. But underneath it had been the brotherhood that Sam had hoped was still there. And now, six months after they’d found themselves in a different world, he had his big brother back, the one who was overprotective and determined to make sure he ate and slept and loved him so fiercely sometimes Sam didn’t know how. They were Sam and Dean again.

“Think one of those boats can still run?” Sam asked.

“It will by the time Cas is done with it,” Dean said. He grinned as he said it, all affection. Sam wanted to roll his eyes but seeing Dean smile was worth it and more.

“Y’know, you’re a decent handyman, too. You could fix it yourself.”

“Yeah, and when we have the time and it’s safe, I will. I just need him to ferry us to the island where it _is_ safe.”

“We’ll have to put up a perimeter. Watch tower.”

“We can’t just put Kevin up on your shoulders to act as a lookout?”

Sam didn’t even look, just slugged sideways. Dean snickered.

“Are you harassing my boyfriend _again_?”

“It’s a favorite pastime,” Dean told Jess as the others joined them on the hill. The two of them grinned at each other, only making Sam bemoan the fact that they’d had a chance to get to know each other and gang up on Sam together.

He loved every minute of it.

Her hand slid into Sam’s, silently but without hesitation, and he thought about the ring still buried in the bottom of his bag. How whenever they found a safe place for them that he could give it to her. Maybe with Isabel’s help.

Sam glanced at Dean and he knew his brother could read him like a book. Dean’s eyes slid to Sam’s bag, then back up to Sam with amusement. _Dude, just do it already_ , he seemed to say.

It was nice to have Dean on his side again, his big brother and best friend. Even if he was picking on Sam in a way that Sam couldn’t even call him out on.

“Is that it?” Charlie asked, peering into the distance. “Is there an island out there?”

“Sure is,” Ruby said. “A few boats at its docks but we should be able to pull up just fine. They’re probably in good condition, too. I don’t see anything moving out there.”

Castiel came up beside Dean, eyes narrowing slightly before relaxing. “There is nothing out there. No souls, no undead. It’s empty. It didn’t use to be, if the numerous houses on it are any indication.”

“Cheater,” Ruby muttered. Castiel merely raised an eyebrow at her and they gave each other what Sam could only call friendly glares. They were an odd friendship, that was for sure.

Ellen squared her shoulders. “Let’s get a move on, then,” she said. “Anyone know a damn thing about boats?”

“We’ll figure it out,” Dean said firmly. “Sam, take half of the group, let’s do a supply run while we’re here. Cas, any zombies around?”

“Ten, scattered throughout the buildings. None of them anywhere near each other.”

Easy pickings. “Charlie, Andy, Bobby, Ruby, Isabel, you guys go with Dean,” Sam told them. “Everyone else with me.”

Ruby caught Isabel beneath the armpits and lifted her up onto her shoulders, making the girl giggle. “I can walk, y’know,” Isabel said. “I’m seven years old.”

“Humor me.”

Dean waited until the others had started down the hill, then reached back for Sam. Sam caught his hand and held it tight. “Be careful,” Dean told him, like every time they parted now. It was _I’m still here_ and _I love you_ all wrapped into one.

“You too,” Sam told him. They parted ways then, Dean to the docks, Sam to the buildings.

And when they joined back up together two hours later, ten zombies permanently dead and supplies hauled down to the docks, there was a running boat waiting for them.

It wasn’t the Impala, but Dean seemed to enjoy himself behind the wheel all the same. They shared a grin as they headed towards their new future.


End file.
